Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

AFL has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Aflac from $122.00 to $116.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $125.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore lifted their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Aflac from $119.00 to $123.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.20.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $123.98 on Friday. Aflac has a 52-week low of $105.76 and a 52-week high of $131.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $117.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.55.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 21.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac will post 7.12 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total transaction of $13,466,311.83. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,134,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,942,422,016.37. This represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 713,662 shares of company stock worth $83,323,978 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac reported adjusted Q3 earnings of $2.43 per share, ahead of the roughly $1.80 analyst consensus. Stronger U.S. profits and lower expenses helped drive the beat; reports also noted a 490-basis-point decline in the U.S. claims ratio. Aflac Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Strong U.S. Profit Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, payable Dec. 1, continuing its long record of dividend growth and supporting its appeal to income investors. Aflac declares fourth-quarter dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Aflac expects Japan pretax margins of 35%–38% and is targeting reinsurance cession of 30% of its FSA reserves. The plan may help manage capital and risk, though its effect on future earnings remains a consideration. Aflac Japan margin and reinsurance plans
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also faced weaker Japan results, currency headwinds and portfolio losses. Aflac’s reported Q3 net profit fell, highlighting the gap between the adjusted earnings beat and bottom-line performance. Aflac Q3 profit falls

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance to individuals and businesses. Its products are designed to help customers manage expenses that may not be covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with accidents, cancer, critical illness and hospital stays.

The company operates primarily in the United States and Japan. In the U.S., Aflac offers workplace benefits such as accident, disability, dental, vision and life insurance.