Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $111.7273.

Several research firms have weighed in on AFL. Mizuho set a $107.00 price target on Aflac in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $839,015.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,602,943.08. This represents a 15.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 16,331 shares of company stock worth $1,817,720 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,731,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,407,000 after acquiring an additional 163,791 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Aflac by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,768,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,662,000 after acquiring an additional 65,308 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in Aflac by 126.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 21,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 11,903 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 12.0% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 97,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,841,000 after purchasing an additional 10,423 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 31.0% in the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 55,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,146,000 after purchasing an additional 13,017 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Down 1.1%

Aflac stock opened at $112.75 on Monday. Aflac has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $119.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $111.52 and a 200 day moving average of $110.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Aflac will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.