American Equity Investment Life (NYSE:AEL) Reaches New 1-Year High at $56.41

Shares of American Equity Investment Life Holding (NYSE:AEL) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $56.41 and last traded at $56.34, with a volume of 42647 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AEL. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of American Equity Investment Life in a report on Monday, March 11th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of American Equity Investment Life from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.50.

American Equity Investment Life Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.27 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.14.

American Equity Investment Life (NYSE:AEL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.24. American Equity Investment Life had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 25.15%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 61.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that American Equity Investment Life Holding will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current year.

American Equity Investment Life Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a boost from American Equity Investment Life’s previous annual dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.68%. American Equity Investment Life’s payout ratio is currently 17.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Equity Investment Life

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AEL. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of American Equity Investment Life by 5,296.0% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,669,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,539,000 after buying an additional 1,638,328 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Equity Investment Life during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,649,000. Alpine Associates Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Equity Investment Life during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,012,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Equity Investment Life during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,560,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of American Equity Investment Life during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,850,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.98% of the company’s stock.

American Equity Investment Life Company Profile

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.