American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Shares to Pay Special Dividend of $3.50

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) declared a special dividend on Tuesday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $3.50 per share by the insurance provider on Wednesday, November 25th. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th.

American Financial Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1% 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 32.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect American Financial Group to earn $11.98 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.4%.

American Financial Group Trading Down 1.4%

AFG stock opened at $153.06 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business’s 50-day moving average is $144.19 and its 200 day moving average is $136.64. The stock has a market cap of $12.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 0.55. American Financial Group has a 12-month low of $123.09 and a 12-month high of $156.24.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.40 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 20.35%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Financial Group will post 12.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $175.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $152.75.

American Financial Group Company Profile

American Financial Group, Inc (NYSE:AFG) is an insurance holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its Great American Insurance Group operations, the company primarily provides property and casualty insurance, with an emphasis on specialty commercial products and markets.

Its insurance offerings serve businesses, organizations and individuals across a range of industries. Product lines have included commercial property and liability coverage, workers’ compensation, transportation, agriculture and crop insurance, marine and other specialty risks.