Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Bank of America cut their price target on Aflac from $137.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $107.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Aflac from $122.00 to $116.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.20.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL opened at $123.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $117.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.20. Aflac has a twelve month low of $105.76 and a twelve month high of $131.18.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $13,466,311.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,134,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,942,422,016.37. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 713,062 shares of company stock valued at $83,249,518. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its position in Aflac by 3.9% during the third quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 19,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,151,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Aflac by 19.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 40,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,754,000 after acquiring an additional 6,688 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. increased its position in shares of Aflac by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 65,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,279,000 after purchasing an additional 5,261 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in Aflac by 1.1% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 27,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,061,000 after purchasing an additional 3,267 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac reported adjusted Q3 earnings of $2.43 per share, ahead of the roughly $1.80 analyst consensus. Stronger U.S. profits and lower expenses helped drive the beat; reports also noted a 490-basis-point decline in the U.S. claims ratio. Aflac Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Strong U.S. Profit Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, payable Dec. 1, continuing its long record of dividend growth and supporting its appeal to income investors. Aflac declares fourth-quarter dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Aflac expects Japan pretax margins of 35%–38% and is targeting reinsurance cession of 30% of its FSA reserves. The plan may help manage capital and risk, though its effect on future earnings remains a consideration. Aflac Japan margin and reinsurance plans
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also faced weaker Japan results, currency headwinds and portfolio losses. Aflac’s reported Q3 net profit fell, highlighting the gap between the adjusted earnings beat and bottom-line performance. Aflac Q3 profit falls

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance to individuals and businesses. Its products are designed to help customers manage expenses that may not be covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with accidents, cancer, critical illness and hospital stays.

The company operates primarily in the United States and Japan. In the U.S., Aflac offers workplace benefits such as accident, disability, dental, vision and life insurance.