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

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $120.42 and last traded at $120.1620, with a volume of 831191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AFL. Weiss Ratings raised Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.27.

Aflac Trading Up 1.5%

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 capitalization of $61.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.76.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,042,771 shares of company stock worth $120,575,104. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Groupe la Francaise bought a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aflac

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.