StockNews.com Upgrades Aflac (NYSE:AFL) to Hold

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

AFL has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Aflac to $107.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment 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.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.13.

Aflac Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $102.69 on Wednesday. Aflac has a 1 year low of $75.07 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.66. The company has a market cap of $57.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.47, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.5% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 28.8% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth $1,202,000. Choreo LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 439.3% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 14,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 11,470 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the second quarter valued at $209,000. 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.