Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Aflac to $107.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective 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 upped their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.29.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $101.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.72.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The firm’s revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. Analysts forecast that Aflac will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.