Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyShares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL – Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $109.1538.
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays set a $98.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Aflac
Aflac Price Performance
NYSE AFL opened at $109.14 on Monday. Aflac has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.75, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $104.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.17.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.
Aflac declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Aflac Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.58 dividend. 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 is presently 52.61%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $432,201,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 12,313.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,504,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,491,951 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $140,746,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,545,000 after acquiring an additional 594,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $60,954,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
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.
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