Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

AFL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Aflac to $107.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.73.

Aflac Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE AFL opened at $103.44 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Aflac has a 52 week low of $75.07 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $107.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.18.

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. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Aflac will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 6.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,807,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $429,319,000 after purchasing an additional 285,576 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,694,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $524,846,000 after acquiring an additional 281,148 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 2,429,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $202,437,000 after acquiring an additional 31,752 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.8% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,276,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $254,382,000 after acquiring an additional 83,289 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.6% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,220,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $198,279,000 after purchasing an additional 117,504 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Company Profile

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.