Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,840,000 shares, a decline of 8.5% from the August 31st total of 14,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,300,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.6 days. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on AFL shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Truist Financial upped 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.36.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock traded up $1.02 on Tuesday, hitting $112.82. 1,894,779 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,262,957. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $64.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac has a 1-year low of $74.89 and a 1-year high of $112.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $104.85 and a 200-day moving average of $93.18.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Aflac will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the first quarter worth $50,000. 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.