B.Riley FBR analyst Randy Binner maintained a Hold rating on American Equity Investment Life (NYSE: AEL) yesterday and set a price target of $33. The company’s shares opened today at $34.83, close to its 52-week high of $35.79.
Binner wrote:
“Life (AEL-Neutral, $33 PT) confirmed rumors floated over a potential sale on a press release. The company noted they are in preliminary discussions regarding a potential transaction and will not comment again until a definitive agreement is in place. We are not surprised by this outcome as noted previously given significant consolidation within the annuity and insurance space. We maintain our Neutral rating given valuation on both earnings (P/E of 9.0x on 2019E (1.35x BV ex-AOCI), that is trading at a premium with several larger-cap, more diversified peers. AEL also is trading at a 19% premium on P/BV ex-AOCI to the last deal in the indexed annuity space (Fidelity and Guaranty).”
According to TipRanks.com, Binner is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 13.6% and a 67.8% success rate. Binner covers the Financial sector, focusing on stocks such as American International Group, Health Insurance Innovations, and National General Holdings.
American Equity Investment Life has an analyst consensus of Moderate Sell, with a price target consensus of $32.33.
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The company has a one-year high of $35.79 and a one-year low of $23.02. Currently, American Equity Investment Life has an average volume of 524.2K.
Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 27 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. Most recently, in March 2018, Ronald James Grensteiner, the EVP of AEL sold 47,750 shares for a total of $1,441,700.
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American Equity Investment Life Holding Co. engages in the development and sale of annuity and life insurance products through its subsidiaries. It focuses on issuing fixed index and fixed rate annuities. The company was founded by David J. Noble on December 15, 1995 and is headquartered in West Des Moines, IA.
