Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Sets New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Aflac shares hit a new 52-week high after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted its price target from $115 to $120, with the stock trading as high as $124 intraday.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the consensus rating is still Hold, with an average price target of $114.50 despite several recent target changes and rating updates.
• Aflac recently reported Q1 earnings of $1.75 per share, missing estimates slightly, while revenue came in above expectations at $4.24 billion and quarterly revenue rose 27.9% year over year.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $115.00 to $120.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Aflac traded as high as $124.00 and last traded at $123.2550, with a volume of 1617110 shares. The stock had previously closed at $121.91.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho set a $112.00 price objective on Aflac in a research note on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price objective on Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Aflac from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $114.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. The trade was a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,301,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $499,216,000 after purchasing an additional 67,650 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $420,078,000. Amundi lifted its position in Aflac by 22.6% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,268,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $358,555,000 after purchasing an additional 603,426 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Aflac by 161.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $349,405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,738 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.39. The company has a market cap of $62.73 billion, a PE ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac's product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.

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