Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on AFL. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.36.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $112.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $119.32. The firm has a market cap of $57.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.96.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Miwako Hosoda sold 243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.50, for a total value of $27,823.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,573.50. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 86,155 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.24, for a total transaction of $9,756,192.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,636,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,847,367,651.80. The trade was a 0.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 572,875 shares of company stock worth $63,542,458. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.