Brokerages Set Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Price Target at $98.73

Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $98.73.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th.

Aflac Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of AFL stock opened at $105.00 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.47. The stock has a market cap of $58.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.97. 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.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 79.7% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 98,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,800,000 after purchasing an additional 5,912 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,535,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth approximately $979,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 1,273.4% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 10,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 9,805 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.