StockNews.com Upgrades Aflac (NYSE:AFL) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on AFL. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.29.

Aflac Stock Down 2.5 %

AFL stock opened at $101.01 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $56.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $106.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.72. Aflac has a fifty-two week low of $75.07 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Aflac will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.94%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.