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

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

AFL has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Aflac to $107.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.73.

Aflac Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $102.36 on Tuesday. Aflac has a 52-week low of $75.07 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $56.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $107.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.16.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.94%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.