Aflac Inc. (NYSE:AFL) issued an update on its third quarter earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $1.58-1.86 for the period, compared to the Thomson Reuters consensus EPS estimate of $1.71. Aflac also updated its FY16 guidance to $6.17-6.41 EPS.
Aflac Inc. (NYSE:AFL) traded down 0.05% on Thursday, reaching $73.32. 1,972,684 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. Aflac Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.41 and a 1-year high of $74.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $71.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.35 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 28th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.03. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. The business earned $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.45 billion. Aflac’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Aflac Inc. will post $6.79 earnings per share for the current year.
AFL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Vetr lowered shares of Aflac from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $70.02 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 19th. Macquarie upgraded shares of Aflac from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 14th. Citigroup Inc. restated a buy rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Sunday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank AG upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, July 7th. Finally, Sandler O’Neill downgraded shares of Aflac from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, May 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $69.25.
In related news, insider Teresa L. White sold 8,976 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.80, for a total value of $626,524.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,928.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles D. Lake II sold 17,791 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $1,218,327.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,187,538.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.
Aflac Incorporated is a business holding company. The Company engaged in is supplemental health and life insurance, which is marketed and administered through its subsidiary, American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus (Aflac). Aflac’s insurance business consists of two segments: Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S.
