Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $97.93.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Barclays assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Aflac Stock Up 1.5 %

AFL opened at $111.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $110.41 and a 200-day moving average of $99.48. The company has a market capitalization of $61.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.96. Aflac has a fifty-two week low of $75.07 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.