American Financial Group, Inc. AFG has one of the most shareholder-friendly capital allocation policies in the U.S. insurance sector. AFG regularly generates capital that is needed to support underwriting operations. Returning excess capital to shareholders in the form of regular and special cash dividends and through opportunistic share repurchases is an important and effective component of American Financial’s capital management strategy.
AFG's shareholder return profile is a major investment attraction. The combination of growing regular dividends, frequent special dividends, opportunistic buybacks and strong underwriting profitability has enabled the company to deliver substantial cash returns to investors over time.
In August 2025, AFG increased its annual dividend by 10% to $3.52 per share, marking its 20th consecutive year of dividend increases. The company's 10-year dividend CAGR is approximately 12.3%. This increase in AFG’s annual dividend reflects its confidence in the company’s financial condition, liquidity and prospects for long-term growth.
AFG, the specialty property & casualty insurer, supplements its regular dividend with large special dividends when excess capital accumulates. In February 2026, the board declared a special cash dividend of $1.50 per share. The aggregate amount of this special dividend will be approximately $125 million. This special-dividend policy has become a major component of the company's total shareholder return strategy and distinguishes it from many peers that rely primarily on regular dividends and buybacks.
Management opportunistically buys back stock when valuations are attractive. During the first quarter of 2026, AFG repurchased approximately $60 million of shares, reducing share count and enhancing per-share earnings growth. AFG returned nearly $260 million to the shareholders through a combination of regular dividends, special dividends and share repurchases in the first quarter of 2026. AFG’s entrepreneurial, opportunistic culture and disciplined operating philosophy continue to position it well for long-term success.
What About Its Peers?
RLI Corp. RLI has one of the most shareholder-friendly capital return programs in the property & casualty insurance industry. The company combines a steadily growing regular dividend, frequent special dividends and opportunistic share repurchases to return excess capital to shareholders while maintaining underwriting discipline. The company has increased its regular dividend for 51 consecutive years, placing it among the longest dividend-growth records in the insurance sector.
First American Financial Corporation FAF follows a balanced capital-return strategy that combines a steadily growing dividend with opportunistic share repurchases. FAF generally uses a combination of regular dividend increases and selective share repurchases to distribute excess capital. FAF has increased its dividend for more than 15 consecutive years, reflecting management's commitment to returning capital through various housing market environments.
AFG’s Price Performance
Shares of AFG have gained 11.1% in the past year, outperforming the industry.
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AFG’s Expensive Valuation
The stock is overvalued compared with its industry. It is currently trading at a price-to-book ratio of 2.46, above the industry average of 1.41.
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Estimate Movement for AFG
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AFG’s second-quarter 2026 has moved down 1.6%, and the third-quarter 2026 EPS has moved up 13.5% in the past 60 days. The same for full-year 2026 and 2027 EPS has moved up 3.5% and 2%, respectively, in the past 60 days.
The consensus estimate for AFG’s 2026 and 2027 EPS and revenues indicates a year-over-year increase.
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AFG stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).