Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.08 EPS

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 24.92% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share.

Aflac Trading Down 1.3 %

AFL stock traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $83.47. The company had a trading volume of 2,800,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,277,610. The stock has a market cap of $48.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.91. Aflac has a 52 week low of $64.10 and a 52 week high of $86.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $83.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.86.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.81%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $239,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total value of $666,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,735,635.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered shares of Aflac from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.15.

About Aflac

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.