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 published on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $103.46 on Friday. Aflac has a 12-month low of $78.38 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The company has a market cap of $57.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.