Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.63 EPS

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.63, FiscalAI reports. Aflac had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 21.24%. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Aflac Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of AFL stock traded down $1.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $124.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 838,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,234,719. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. Aflac has a 1-year low of $105.76 and a 1-year high of $131.18. The company has a market capitalization of $62.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $117.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.13.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.

Aflac News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings of $2.43 per share beat analyst estimates, with reports pointing to stronger U.S. profits and lower expenses as key drivers. Aflac also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, extending its dividend-growth record. Aflac Q3 earnings beat estimates on strong U.S. profit growth Aflac dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Management expects a 35%–38% pretax margin in Japan and is targeting reinsurance cession of 30% of FSA reserves. The targets may help investors assess the outlook for Aflac’s important Japan business. Aflac Japan margin and reinsurance targets
• Negative Sentiment: Results were not uniformly strong: Japan performance and foreign-exchange headwinds were cited as drags, while revenue was reported down 31% year over year. Coverage also highlighted portfolio losses and lower net profit, adding uncertainty despite the operating-earnings beat. Aflac Q3 results and U.S. profit growth Aflac portfolio losses and U.S. results

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AFL. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $138.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $101.00 price target (up from $99.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Aflac from $119.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.20.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $13,466,311.83. Following the sale, the insider owned 50,134,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,942,422,016.37. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 713,662 shares of company stock valued at $83,323,978 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) is an insurance company specializing in supplemental health and life insurance. Through its policies, the company helps individuals and families manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including deductibles, copayments and other out-of-pocket costs.

Aflac offers products such as accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, dental and vision, disability, life and long-term care insurance. Many of its supplemental policies provide cash benefits directly to policyholders, who can generally use the funds according to their individual needs.