American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.88

Key Points

• American Financial Group, Inc. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.88, which is a 10% increase from the previous dividend of $0.80. Shareholders of record will receive this payment on October 24th.
• The company has a payout ratio of 27.0%, indicating that the dividend is well-covered by earnings, with expectations to maintain a similar payout ratio for the upcoming year.
• American Financial Group's stock recently traded at $146.21, with a market capitalization of $12.19 billion, and an average price target set at $136.75 by analysts.

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 1st, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.88 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, October 24th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is a 10.0% increase from American Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80.

American Financial Group has a payout ratio of 27.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 0.3%

AFG traded up $0.49 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $146.21. 27,911 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 498,027. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50-day moving average is $134.51 and its 200 day moving average is $128.65. American Financial Group has a 12 month low of $114.73 and a 12 month high of $150.19.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.06. American Financial Group had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that American Financial Group will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AFG. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, American Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $136.75.

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.

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