Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Short Interest Down 9.3% in November

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,260,000 shares, a drop of 9.3% from the October 31st total of 9,110,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock traded down $4.64 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $106.76. 3,045,073 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,213,832. The company has a market cap of $59.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $111.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Aflac has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Aflac will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.93.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 7,001.0% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 667,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 658,303 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 10,878.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 559,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,597,000 after purchasing an additional 554,803 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 471.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,080,000 after purchasing an additional 495,000 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 26.6% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,929,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $172,338,000 after purchasing an additional 405,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth about $42,290,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Company Profile

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.