Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Aflac reported quarterly EPS of $2.43, beating analysts’ $1.80 consensus estimate by $0.63.
• Quarterly revenue was $3.27 billion, below the $4.12 billion analyst estimate.
• Shares rose 1.0% to $125.29. Analysts’ average rating was “Hold,” with an average price target of $117.20; Aflac’s quarterly dividend was $0.61 per share.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.63, FiscalAI reports. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion.

Aflac Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of AFL traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $125.29. The company had a trading volume of 2,565,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,241,289. The firm has a market cap of $62.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.55. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $116.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac has a 52-week low of $105.76 and a 52-week high of $130.22.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Aflac from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Aflac from $122.00 to $116.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $138.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $119.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $117.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total transaction of $13,466,311.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,134,329 shares in the company, valued at $5,942,422,016.37. This represents a 0.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 713,662 shares of company stock worth $83,323,978. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.43, above analyst estimates of about $1.80–$1.81. The earnings beat is the clearest favorable signal in the latest news. Aflac third-quarter results
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also reported GAAP net earnings of $303 million, or $0.61 per diluted share, amid portfolio repositioning. This is substantially below adjusted EPS, so investors may look to the release for details on the items behind the difference. Aflac earnings and portfolio repositioning
• Neutral Sentiment: Aflac declared a fourth-quarter dividend alongside its results, supporting its income-return profile; the supplied announcement did not specify the dividend amount. Dividend announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Quiver’s six-month insider-trading tally showed 159 open-market sales and no purchases. That may be a cautionary signal, though the activity spans several months and does not by itself establish a near-term outlook. Aflac earnings and trading data

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated NYSE: AFL is an insurance company specializing in supplemental health and life insurance. Through its policies, the company helps individuals and families manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including deductibles, copayments and other out-of-pocket costs.

Aflac offers products such as accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, dental and vision, disability, life and long-term care insurance. Many of its supplemental policies provide cash benefits directly to policyholders, who can generally use the funds according to their individual needs.

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