Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Receives $112.27 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $112.2727.

Several research analysts have commented on AFL shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays set a $99.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th.

Aflac Stock Down 0.4%

AFL opened at $116.90 on Wednesday. Aflac has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $119.81. The company has a market cap of $59.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $114.95 and a 200 day moving average of $112.09.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,723,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,641,978. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,038,756 shares of company stock worth $119,272,215. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth approximately $280,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,854,000 after buying an additional 15,105 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.