American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) to Issue $2.00 Special Dividend

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) announced a special dividend on Friday, February 28th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of 2.00 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, March 28th.

American Financial Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 12.5% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 19 consecutive years. American Financial Group has a payout ratio of 27.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect American Financial Group to earn $11.68 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.4%.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFG opened at $126.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.45. American Financial Group has a 52 week low of $118.97 and a 52 week high of $150.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 0.83.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.03). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.30% and a net margin of 10.66%. On average, equities analysts predict that American Financial Group will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gregory G. Joseph bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction of $363,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 57,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,954,717. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 14.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AFG shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

About American Financial Group

American Financial Group, Inc, an insurance holding company, provides specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. The company offers property and transportation insurance products, such as physical damage and liability coverage for buses and trucks, inland and ocean marine, agricultural-related products, and other commercial property and specialty transportation coverages; specialty casualty insurance, including primarily excess and surplus, executive and professional liability, general liability, umbrella and excess liability, and specialty coverage in targeted markets, as well as customized programs for small to mid-sized businesses and workers’ compensation insurance; and specialty financial insurance products comprising risk management insurance programs for lending and leasing institutions, fidelity and surety products, and trade credit insurance.