Yahoo Finance Is It Smart To Buy American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend?
It looks like American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 4 days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date, which is the cut-off date for shareholders to be present on the company's books to be eligible for a dividend payment. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. Therefore, if you purchase American Financial Group's shares on or after the 12th of April, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 25th of April.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.71 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$2.84 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, American Financial Group has a trailing yield of 2.1% on the current stock price of US$132.55. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether American Financial Group's dividend is reliable and sustainable. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
See our latest analysis for American Financial Group
Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. That's why it's good to see American Financial Group paying out a modest 27% of its earnings.
Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. Fortunately for readers, American Financial Group's earnings per share have been growing at 11% a year for the past five years.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the past 10 years, American Financial Group has increased its dividend at approximately 14% a year on average. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.
Final Takeaway
Is American Financial Group an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? When companies are growing rapidly and retaining a majority of the profits within the business, it's usually a sign that reinvesting earnings creates more value than paying dividends to shareholders. This is one of the most attractive investment combinations under this analysis, as it can create substantial value for investors over the long run. In summary, American Financial Group appears to have some promise as a dividend stock, and we'd suggest taking a closer look at it.
While it's tempting to invest in American Financial Group for the dividends alone, you should always be mindful of the risks involved. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for American Financial Group you should be aware of.
If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top dividend stocks.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
