The board of directors of XL Group plc XL hiked the quarterly dividend by 25% and approved a new $1 billion share buyback program in a concerted effort to share more profits with its investors.
The new dividend payout comes to 20 cents per share. The annualized dividend of 80 cents per share yields 2.1% based on the Aug 6 closing price of $38.85, and betters the industry average of 1.80%. Shareholders of record on Sept 15, 2015 are expected to have the meatier dividend in their pockets on Sep 30.
The Bermuda-based property and casualty insurer has an impressive track of raising dividend every year. The previous dividend hike had been effectuated in Feb 2013, with a 14% increase.
Apart from dividend increase, XL Group also engages in share buybacks that lower the share count and boost the bottom line. To that end, the board of directors authorized the company to buy back up to $1 billion shares. The new program replaces the $97.6 million remaining under the previous authorization. With $2.9 million shares bought back for $110 million last quarter, the company resumed its repurchase activities suspended in the first quarter due to the Catlin buyout.
A sturdy financial position backed by continued solid operational performance positions it well for capital deployment. The Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) insurer delivered positive earnings surprise over the past several quarters. Also, it is decently liquid with cash and cash equivalents of $2.98 billion at second quarter end, up 18% from 2014 end.
Several insurers are treading the same path as XL Group with dividend increases or new share buyback programs. Last month, Fidelity National Financial, Inc. FNF hiked its quarterly dividend by 10% and approved a three-year 25 million share repurchase program. In May, RLI Corp. RLI announced a 5.5% increase in its dividend while ACE Limited ACE hiked its dividend by 3.1%.
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