Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Hits New 1-Year High at $111.31

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $111.31 and last traded at $111.12, with a volume of 314401 shares. The stock had previously closed at $110.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Aflac from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.36.

Aflac Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.98. The company has a market cap of $63.19 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s payout ratio is 22.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 80.0% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.