Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $119.95 and last traded at $119.8560, with a volume of 158868 shares. The stock had previously closed at $117.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on Aflac in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.27.

Aflac Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $61.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during 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%.Aflac’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,641,978. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,082,471 shares of company stock valued at $124,943,184. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Aflac by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,854,000 after purchasing an additional 15,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.