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

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on AFL. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Evercore upped their target price on Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.73.

Aflac Trading Up 0.5%

AFL opened at $113.46 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. Aflac has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $111.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.12). Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Aflac’s revenue 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.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 188.5% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Aflac by 95.6% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.