Short Interest in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Drops By 8.0%

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,260,000 shares, a decrease of 8.0% from the December 15th total of 7,890,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,000,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Aflac Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE AFL traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $106.43. 2,080,419 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,698,974. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $106.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac has a 12 month low of $75.07 and a 12 month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.12%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after buying an additional 333,083 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 79.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,058,000 after acquiring an additional 12,131 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $979,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 4.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,395,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the third quarter worth approximately $250,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.07.

About Aflac

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.