Yahoo Finance FBL Financial (FFG) to Share More Profits, Ups Dividend by 4%
In its concerted efforts to enhance shareholder value, the board of directors of FBL Financial Group FFG approved a 4% hike in its annual dividend. With this, the payout now stands at 52 cents per share compared with 50 cents per share paid in December 2020.
Based on the stock’s Feb 26 closing price of $57.04, the new dividend will yield 3.6%, better than the industry average of 2%. With 38 million shares outstanding, this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company looks to allocate about $13 million quarterly to pay the dividend. Shareholders of record on Mar 15 will receive the meatier dividend on Mar 31.
The company has increased dividend each year, reflecting operational excellence and the company’s commitment to return value to its shareholders. The company’s dividend witnessed a 10-year CAGR of 23.6%. Growing life insurance sales, solid Annuity business, expanding Wealth Management business, expense management and sturdy capital position should help the company continue to increase dividends.
Solid financial foundation and operational performance will continue to generate excess capital, thereby providing enough support FBL Financial Group to engage in shareholder-friendly moves. The company has also been paying special dividend every year since 2014.
Shares of FBL Financial Group have rallied 15.4% in a year compared with the industry’s decrease of 10.6%. Operational excellence and solid capital position should help shares retain the momentum.
Recently, three other P&C insurers, RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. RNR, Cincinnati Financial Corporation CINF and The Allstate Corporation ALL have undertaken similar measures. While RenaissanceRe has approved a 2.9% hike in its quarterly dividend, Cincinnati Financial approved a 5% raise. The board of directors of Allstate approved a 50% hike in the quarterly dividend.
The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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