This week I'm seeking a prestigious and long-term dividend paying stock from the financial services sector. 

Financial Services includes twenty industries ranging from Asset Management to 8 kinds of Banks, Credit, Exchanges, 6 kinds of Insurance, Savings, and all such financial concerns.

Today I'm reviewing a  mid-cap insurance - property & casualty firm named AmTrust Financial Services Inc. It's trading ticker symbol is AFSI. 

AmTrust Financial Services Inc underwrites and provides property and casualty insurance products, including workers' compensation, commercial automobile, general liability, and warranty coverage, in the United States and internationally.

The company operates in three segments: Small Commercial Business, Specialty Risk and Extended Warranty, and Specialty Program. The Small Commercial Business segment offers workers' compensation insurance products; and commercial package, and other property and casualty insurance products. 

The Specialty Risk and Extended Warranty segment provides custom designed coverages, such as accidental damage plans, mechanical breakdown protection, and payment protection plans. 

The Specialty Program segment offers workers' compensation, general liability, commercial auto liability, property coverage, excess and surplus lines programs, and other specialty commercial property and casualty insurance products to small and middle market companies. 

The company also provides reinsurance services primarily for personal and commercial automotive business. It distributes its policies third-party brokers, agents, retailers, or administrators. 

AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is based in New York, New York.

I use three key data points to gauge the value of any dividend equity or fund like  AmTrust Financial Services Inc: 

(1) Price

(2) Dividends

(3) Returns

Besides those three, four more keys will finally unlock an equity or fund in which to invest.

But those first three primary keys, best tell whether a company has made, is making, and will make money. 

AFSI Price

AmTrust's price per share was $14.33 at Friday's market close. A year ago its price was $13.81 for a price gain of $0.52 per share.  

Assuming AmTrust's price will trade in the range of $9to $16 next year, AmTrust's current $14.33 price could nearly double last year's $0.52 gain and grow $1.00 to $15.33 by early-October, 2019. 

AFSI Dividends

AmTrust's most recent quarterly dividend was $0.17 declared July 26th and paid  April 16th. 

At this most recent $0.17 quarterly rate, AmTrust's annual dividend equals $0.68 yielding 4.75% at Friday's closing $14.33 price.

Gains For ETP?

Adding the $0.68 estimated annual dividend to my estimated $1.00 annual price upside for AmTrust makes a $1.68 potential gross annual per share gain, which will be reduced by the costs to trade the shares.  

 A little over $1,000.00 invested today at the $14.33 recent price buys 70 AmTrust Financial Services Inc shares. 

A $10 broker fee paid half at purchase and half at sale costs $0.14 per share

Subtracting that $0.14 brokerage cost from the estimated $1.68 gross annual gain leaves a net gain of $1.54 X 70 shares 

= $107.80

or a 10.7% net gain on a $1,003.10 investment.

Therefore, AmTrust Financial Services Inc, whose trading ticker symbol is AFSI, now shows a possible 10.7% net gain including a 4.75% dividend yield. 

Four brokers cover this stock:

One says AFSI is a stock to "buy".

None say AFSI will "outperform" its peers.

Three say AFSI is a stock to "hold".

Thus, the consensus analyst recommendation number is 2.5 or "outperform". 

The median price target set by those four brokers is  $0.58 under the $15.33 price target I suggested for AFSI. 

So, you could look at all these speculative numbers this way, AmTrust Financial Services Inc, whose trading ticker symbol is  AFSI, has made money, is making money, and could net a 7% to 10% net annual gain including a 4.75% dividend yield. It could be more, it could be less.

The above speculation is based on past year performance. Actual results remain to be seen. Those results will determine if AmTrust Financial Services Inc is worth your time and money.