Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $97.93.

AFL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th.

Aflac Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:AFL opened at $112.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.89. Aflac has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50. The firm has a market cap of $62.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.96.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the third quarter worth $45,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.