Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $116.1667.

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth $25,000. Groupe la Francaise bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $128.77 on Thursday. Aflac has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $130.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $119.26 and its 200 day moving average is $114.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.