Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Receives $98.73 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $98.73.

AFL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays started coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Aflac to $107.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd.

Aflac Stock Down 2.2 %

AFL stock opened at $105.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $110.91 and a 200-day moving average of $102.47. 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 has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.