Athene USA’s operating companies and the insurer’s holding company have received upgraded ratings from A.M. Best & Co., MarketWatch reported. The rating agency upgraded Athene USA Group’s financial strength rating to A- (Excellent) from B++ (Good) and the issuer credit ratings to “a-” from “bbb+”. The outlook for all ratings has been revised to stable from positive. The rating actions on the Athene USA Group companies is based on additional cash capital contributed to the company this month and significant progress toward satisfying the material weakness issue identified by the rating agency in October 2014. Concurrently, A.M. Best has upgraded the issuer credit rating of Athene Holding Ltd., which is Athene’s Bermuda-based holding company, to “bbb-” from “bb+”.  Athene USA, a major indexed annuity issuer, is based in West Des Moines.