Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Short Interest Down 8.0% in December

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) saw a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,260,000 shares, a drop of 8.0% from the December 15th total of 7,890,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $106.43. 2,080,419 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,698,974. The company has a market cap of $59.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $106.41 and its 200 day moving average is $105.36. 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 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s payout ratio is 30.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Aflac in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.07.

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.