Covered, compounding reliability. A 2.13% yield on a 17.7% trailing payout is covered income with a wide cushion: $0.94 a quarter, raised in January 2026 by 8%, from $0.87 to $0.94, for a 66th consecutive year of increases — Dividend King territory. Most earnings stay retained behind the dividend, which is exactly what a 66-year streak needs.
Key risk: Catastrophe losses — as a property and casualty insurer, a heavy catastrophe season can swing quarterly earnings sharply even while premiums and investment income hold up.
Changes if: The combined ratio deteriorates through catastrophe losses, or the trailing payout pushes well past 17.7%.
- ✓Payout-coverage check: 17.7% trailing — the $3.76 indicated dividend leaves most earnings retained.
- ✓Yield check: 2.13% indicated — $0.94/qtr × 4 at the $176.30 close on Oct. 23, 2026. Real, earned yield for a single stock, not a special or a return of capital.
- ✓Dividend growth check: 66 consecutive years of increases; the latest raise, declared Jan. 30, 2026, lifted the quarterly dividend 8%, from $0.87 to $0.94, payable Apr. 15, 2026.
What this grade doesn't say: It screens the dividend only — covered, real, compounding. It says nothing about valuation or price: a well-covered payer can still be overpriced, and its price can still fall.