Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Receives $98.73 Average PT from Brokerages

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $98.73.

AFL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Aflac to $107.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 22.7% during the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 13,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,204,000 after buying an additional 2,491 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 79.5% in the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 3,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC increased its position in Aflac by 0.6% during the second quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 45,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,051,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. ForthRight Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 18.2% during the second quarter. ForthRight Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Finally, Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Aflac by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 5,973 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL traded down $0.44 on Friday, reaching $107.31. 1,913,390 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,802,793. The company's 50-day moving average price is $111.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.97. Aflac has a fifty-two week low of $75.07 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Aflac's revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is a boost from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac's payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

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.