Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac to $107.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.13.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $102.69 on Wednesday. Aflac has a twelve month low of $75.07 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The company has a market capitalization of $57.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $106.86 and a 200 day moving average of $104.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in Aflac in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Aflac by 41.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.