Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Reaffirms Market Perform Rating for Aflac (NYSE:AFL)

Aflac (NYSE:AFL)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reissued by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $113.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price suggests a potential upside of 4.60% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barclays set a $101.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 target price on Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Mizuho set a $107.00 price target on Aflac in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.00.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $108.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 708,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,397,896. Aflac has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $55.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.78, for a total value of $1,601,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 52,046,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,557,557,304. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 15,590 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.93, for a total transaction of $1,713,808.70. Following the sale, the director owned 62,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,841,713.41. This trade represents a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 220,877 shares of company stock valued at $24,170,256 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 188.5% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.