American Financial Group, Inc. Plans Special Dividend of $2.00 (NYSE:AFG)

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

American Financial Group has increased its dividend by an average of 12.5% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 19 consecutive years. American Financial Group has a dividend payout ratio of 27.2% indicating that 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

NYSE AFG opened at $126.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50 day moving average is $131.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.45. American Financial Group has a 12 month low of $118.97 and a 12 month high of $150.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.15 by ($0.03). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.30% and a net margin of 10.66%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Financial Group will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Financial Group news, Director Gregory G. Joseph acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction of $363,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 57,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,954,717. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Company Profile

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.