Chubb To Propose 2.7% Dividend Hike, Share More Profits
Zacks Investment Research | Mar 01, 2019 02:22AM ET
The board of directors of Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB) has announced that it will propose a 2.7% increase in annual dividend at the company’s annual general meeting. If approved, this will be the 26th straight year of dividend hikes. Following the announcement, shares gained 0.7% in the last trading session.
If approved, Chubb will pay a quarterly dividend of 75 cents ($3.00 on an annualized basis) compared with 73 cents ($2.92 on an annualized basis) paid currently.
Chubb has stellar track record of paying quarterly dividends and raising its dividend payout each year. Chubb has more than doubled its quarterly dividend since 2010, reflecting sustained solid operational performance. The company beat estimates for 10 straight quarters. Based on the closing price of $133.90 as of Feb 28, the company’s dividend yield is 2.2%, much above the industry average of 1.4%.
Concurrently, the board members also announced a quarterly dividend of 31 cents per share to shareholders of record as of Mar 22, 2019 to be paid on Apr 12, 2019.
Apart from continuous dividend increases, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) insurer aggressively buys back shares to boost its bottom line. The company now has a $1.5 billion share buyback program under its authorization.
Shares of Chubb have however underperformed the S&P 500 Index year to date. While the stock has gained 3.7%, the index has rallied 11.1%. The company’s expanded capabilities, strategic growth initiatives and effective capital deployment should help the stock rally.
Several insurers have hiked dividend to reward their shareholders lately. The board of Assured Guaranty Ltd (NYSE:AGO) approved a 12.5% increase in quarterly dividend, while FBL Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:FFG) raised dividend by 4.3%.
A Stock to Consider
A better-ranked property and casualty insurer is Cincinnati Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:CINF) sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see Zacks Investment Research
Get The News You Want
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.