Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on AFL. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Aflac from an in-line rating to an underperform rating and upped their target price for the company from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $81.85.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $80.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $46.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.36. Aflac has a 52 week low of $64.10 and a 52 week high of $86.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 24.92%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 86,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,879,451.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total transaction of $2,436,695.63. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 86,090 shares in the company, valued at $6,879,451.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at $445,850.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its position in Aflac by 80.0% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.