Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $98.73.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays began coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other 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 value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 643,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,964,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $576,000. Old North State Trust LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 5.9% during the third quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 3,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 75.2% in 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 during 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 worth $7,219,000 after purchasing an additional 7,918 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE AFL opened at $103.44 on Wednesday. Aflac has a 12 month low of $75.07 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $57.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $107.67 and its 200 day moving average is $104.18.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

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

About Aflac

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.