Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Announces $0.61 Quarterly Dividend

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of 0.61 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th.

Aflac has increased its dividend by an average of 0.2%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 44 years. Aflac has a dividend payout ratio of 34.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Aflac to earn $7.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.9%.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock traded down $1.99 on Friday, reaching $124.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,179,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,355,565. Aflac has a 12 month low of $101.49 and a 12 month high of $130.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $120.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $99.00 price objective (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday. Mizuho set a $112.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.25.

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.