Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America raised their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.73.

Aflac Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:AFL opened at $103.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. Aflac has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.18.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Aflac will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 643,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,964,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $576,000. Old North State Trust LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 3,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after acquiring an additional 333,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 64,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,219,000 after acquiring an additional 7,918 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.