Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Short Interest Update

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,110,000 shares, a drop of 6.8% from the October 15th total of 9,770,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Aflac Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:AFL opened at $111.12 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $110.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.96. Aflac has a 12 month low of $75.07 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Aflac will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Aflac by 6.4% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 98,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,800,000 after acquiring an additional 5,912 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 79.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,535,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 576.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 8,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 6,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Aflac by 161.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 311,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,723,000 after buying an additional 191,975 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AFL. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.93.

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.