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

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) announced a special dividend on Friday, February 28th, RTT News reports. Investors 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% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 19 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 Trading Up 0.7 %

American Financial Group stock traded up $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $126.12. 34,114 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 432,536. American Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $118.97 and a fifty-two week high of $150.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.44. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.15 by ($0.03). American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 20.30%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Financial Group will post 10.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.