American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.97 Per Share

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.97 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, October 23rd. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. This is a 10.2% increase from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88.

American Financial Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%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 29.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect American Financial Group to earn $11.85 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 29.7%.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of AFG traded up $1.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $138.09. The stock had a trading volume of 323,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 516,661. The company has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. American Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $123.09 and a fifty-two week high of $150.02.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 11.51%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that American Financial Group will post 12.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, VP Mark Weiss sold 2,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.76, for a total transaction of $407,209.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 6,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,364.48. The trade was a 29.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Brian Hertzman sold 950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.87, for a total value of $135,726.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,589,143.01. The trade was a 7.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 16.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AFG. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in American Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $1,079,329,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,732,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $236,645,000 after buying an additional 29,731 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 19.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,506,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $192,395,000 after buying an additional 240,509 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $114,661,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in American Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $102,590,000. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About American Financial Group

American Financial Group, Inc is an insurance holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its Great American Insurance Group businesses, the company primarily provides property and casualty insurance products, with an emphasis on specialty commercial markets that require specialized underwriting expertise.

Its insurance offerings include coverage for commercial transportation, agriculture, workers’ compensation, excess and surplus risks, environmental exposures, inland marine, and other niche industries.