American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) to Issue $0.71 Quarterly Dividend

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, July 1st, NASDAQ reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of 0.71 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th.

American Financial Group has raised its dividend by an average of 12.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 18 consecutive years. American Financial Group has a dividend payout ratio of 23.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect American Financial Group to earn $11.63 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.4%.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFG opened at $122.91 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $128.13 and a 200 day moving average of $125.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. American Financial Group has a twelve month low of $105.22 and a twelve month high of $137.71. The firm has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.79.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.06. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 11.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that American Financial Group will post 10.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In related news, Director Amy Y. Murray acquired 1,200 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $125.17 per share, for a total transaction of $150,204.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,204. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AFG shares. Citigroup cut shares of American Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $144.00 to $137.00 in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on American Financial Group from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.75.

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.