American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG) to Issue Special Dividend of $2.00 on November 26th

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) declared a special dividend on Tuesday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of 2.00 per share by the insurance provider on Wednesday, November 26th. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th.

American Financial Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 19 years. American Financial Group has a payout ratio of 29.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 $3.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.1%.

American Financial Group Price Performance

AFG opened at $142.29 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.27. American Financial Group has a 12-month low of $114.73 and a 12-month high of $150.19.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.34. American Financial Group had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. American Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that American Financial Group will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other American Financial Group news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.51, for a total value of $253,240.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 11,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,610,363. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total transaction of $1,343,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 326,730 shares in the company, valued at $43,883,106.30. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Financial Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 12.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,963,942 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $431,906,000 after buying an additional 337,573 shares during the last quarter. American Financial Group Inc. 401 K Retirement & Savings Plan grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. American Financial Group Inc. 401 K Retirement & Savings Plan now owns 2,616,928 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $343,707,000 after acquiring an additional 23,228 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,565,424 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $323,782,000 after acquiring an additional 44,710 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,127,518 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $164,293,000 after purchasing an additional 110,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in American Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth $106,707,000. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.