Balefire LLC Makes New $292,000 Investment in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Balefire LLC made a new investment in Aflac Incorporated, purchasing 2,768 shares valued at approximately $292,000 during the second quarter.
• Aflac's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.78, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.71, although revenue decreased by 19% compared to the previous year.
• The company's Board of Directors authorized a share buyback plan permitting the repurchase of 100 million shares, indicating confidence in the stock's value.

Balefire LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter worth $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 121.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 90.8% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $108.03 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.78 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.85. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays set a $98.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.15.

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.

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