Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Upgraded by Wolfe Research to “Strong Sell” Rating

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) was upgraded by Wolfe Research to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on AFL. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $99.00 price target (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.62.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $116.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $58.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac has a twelve month low of $104.66 and a twelve month high of $130.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $121.59 and a 200 day moving average of $116.09.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The company had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 507,333 shares of company stock valued at $59,450,256. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in Aflac by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $902,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.