Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

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

AFL has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their price target on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Aflac to $107.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.13.

Aflac Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of AFL opened at $103.51 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.65. Aflac has a twelve month low of $75.07 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.94%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park National Corp OH grew its position in Aflac by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 4,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 16,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,655,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of Aflac by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 825.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.