Why AIG Is Rising Despite Q4 Earnings Miss

Banking, finance, and taxes

Published: February 12, 2016 11:05 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 1:15 pm

American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) reported its fourth-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Thursday. The company had a net loss of $1.10 per share on $13.49 billion in revenue, although the consensus estimate had called for a net loss of $0.93 per share. In the same period of the previous year, AIG posted $0.97 in earnings per share (EPS).

The board of directors announced that it will add two more seats for a total of 16. The board will nominate its existing board of directors, as well as John Paulson, president of Paulson & Co., and Samuel Merksamer, a managing director of Icahn Capital, as the slate of directors to be included in AIG’s proxy statement for election at the 2016 AIG annual meeting of shareholders.

In addition, the board of directors approved a $5 billion share repurchase authorization and announced that it will increase its quarterly dividend by 14% to $0.32 per share. That will be payable on March 28 for shareholders as of March 14.

Peter D. Hancock, president and CEO of AIG, commented on earnings:

At the beginning of 2015, we embarked on a three-year plan to transform AIG. Over the past year, we have been implementing our strategy and made significant progress towards our objectives. During the fourth quarter, we streamlined our management structure to accelerate decision-making and strengthen accountability. Our recent strategy update detailed the next chapter of our transformation into a leaner, more profitable and focused insurer.

Shares of AIG were trading up 4.8% at $52.94 on Friday, with a consensus analyst price target of $66.39 and a 52-week trading range of $50.38 to $64.93.