American Equity Investment Life Holding (NYSE:AEL) Increases Dividend to $0.38 Per Share

American Equity Investment Life Holding (NYSE:AEL - Get Free Report) declared an annual dividend on Friday, April 5th, NASDAQ reports. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of 0.38 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, April 29th. This represents a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from American Equity Investment Life's previous annual dividend of $0.02.

American Equity Investment Life has a payout ratio of 5.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect American Equity Investment Life to earn $7.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 5.1%.

American Equity Investment Life Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:AEL traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $56.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,202,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 492,550. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $55.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.99. American Equity Investment Life has a 12-month low of $36.39 and a 12-month high of $56.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

American Equity Investment Life (NYSE:AEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.24. American Equity Investment Life had a return on equity of 25.15% and a net margin of 7.42%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $673.53 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. American Equity Investment Life's quarterly revenue was up 61.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Equity Investment Life will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on American Equity Investment Life in a research report on Monday, March 11th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on American Equity Investment Life from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Equity Investment Life

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEL. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in American Equity Investment Life by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 72,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,890,000 after acquiring an additional 8,175 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in American Equity Investment Life by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 22,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,837 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Equity Investment Life by 56.1% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 44,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,768,000 after purchasing an additional 15,909 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in American Equity Investment Life by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,317,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $531,512,000 after purchasing an additional 49,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its holdings in American Equity Investment Life by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 72,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.98% of the company's stock.

About American Equity Investment Life

American Equity Investment Life Holding Company, through its subsidiaries, provides life insurance products in the United States. The company issues fixed index and rate annuities, as well as single premium immediate annuities. It markets its products through independent agents, including independent marketing organizations, broker/dealers, banks, and registered investment advisors.