Brokerages Set Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) PT at $109.15

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fourteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $109.1538.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $106.00 target price (up from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, August 14th.

Aflac Stock Up 1.5%

Aflac stock opened at $112.24 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $106.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.37. Aflac has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company has a market cap of $60.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.61%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1,526.7% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

About Aflac

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.