Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on AFL. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 15th. Evercore raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Aflac from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Mizuho set a $107.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.73.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $112.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $58.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $111.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.98. Aflac has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.32.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total transaction of $839,015.46. Following the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,331 shares of company stock valued at $1,817,720. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in shares of Aflac by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in Aflac by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $902,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Company Profile

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.