Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on AFL. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Aflac from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $78.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.31.

Aflac Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $83.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Aflac has a 12-month low of $64.10 and a 12-month high of $86.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Aflac will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the transaction, the director now owns 86,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,879,451.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Aflac news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at $445,850.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 86,090 shares in the company, valued at $6,879,451.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,493 shares of company stock valued at $3,765,706 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 80.0% in the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.