Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Short Interest Update

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,260,000 shares, a drop of 8.0% from the December 15th total of 7,890,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter worth $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of Aflac stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $106.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,080,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,698,974. The company has a market cap of $59.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $106.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.47. Aflac has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AFL. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.07.

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.