Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $103.93.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $104.51 on Friday. Aflac has a 12-month low of $79.31 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $106.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.44. The firm has a market cap of $57.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Equities research analysts predict that Aflac will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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.