Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on AFL. UBS Group boosted their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.31.

Aflac Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of AFL stock traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $83.21. 2,901,181 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,308,597. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.87. Aflac has a 52-week low of $64.10 and a 52-week high of $86.26. The stock has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.06 and a quick ratio of 0.06.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 27.67%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Aflac will post 6.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 86,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,879,451.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $239,190.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at $445,850.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its position in Aflac by 80.0% during the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Aflac

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.