American Financial Group pays special dividend

American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG) will pay yet another special dividend of $2.00 per share. This comes after a special dividend of $4.00 per share announced one month ago. The insurance holding company last raised its quarterly dividend by 12 percent to 56 cents per share in August and has now declared $26.00 per share in special dividends in 2021. The regular annual dividend rate of $2.24 per AFG share yields 1.6% at a stock price of $139.

The $2.00 special AFG dividend is payable on December 30, 2021 to shareholders of record on December 24, 2021. With this special dividend, the American Financial has declared $26.00 per share in special dividends in 2021.

AFG Co-CEOs Carl H. Lindner III and S. Craig Lindner stated: “Returning excess capital to shareholders in the form of this $2.00 special dividend is an important and effective component of our capital management strategy; it reflects AFG’s strong financial position and our confidence in the Company’s financial future. Our excess capital remains at a significant level, which affords us the financial flexibility to grow our Specialty P&C business organically and through acquisitions and start-ups that meet our target return thresholds, make opportunistic repurchases of AFG’s stock and pay additional dividends.”

American Financial Group is an insurance holding company, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through the operations of Great American Insurance Group, AFG is engaged primarily in property and casualty insurance, focusing on specialized commercial products for businesses. Great American Insurance Group’s roots go back to 1872 with the founding of its flagship company, Great American Insurance Company. American Financial Group has paid an uninterrupted dividend to its shareholders every year since at least 1986.