Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Mizuho set a $116.00 target price on Aflac in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.58.

Aflac Stock Down 0.1%

AFL stock opened at $121.38 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $121.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.86. The company has a market capitalization of $60.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60. Aflac has a 52 week low of $104.66 and a 52 week high of $130.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Aflac will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. The trade was a 0.12% 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 90 days, insiders sold 578,333 shares of company stock valued at $67,710,836. 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 modified their holdings of AFL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 4.3% in 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 in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $280,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Aflac by 11.2% in 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 period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.