Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Short Interest Down 9.7% in September

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 11,600,000 shares, a decline of 9.7% from the September 15th total of 12,840,000 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 80.0% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $114.38 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac has a fifty-two week low of $75.07 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $64.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.49.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. Analysts expect that Aflac will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AFL. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.53.

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.