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Aflac (AFL) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
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In the latest trading session, Aflac (AFL - Free Report) closed at $56.42, marking a +0.75% move from the previous day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.21%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.03%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.01%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the insurer had gained 0.97% over the past month. This has lagged the Finance sector's gain of 1.97% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.2% in that time.
Aflac will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be August 1, 2022. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.29, down 18.87% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $4.81 billion, down 13.58% from the year-ago period.
AFL's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $5.21 per share and revenue of $19.55 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -12.29% and -11.56%, respectively.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Aflac. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.19% lower within the past month. Aflac is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
In terms of valuation, Aflac is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.75. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.59.
Also, we should mention that AFL has a PEG ratio of 2.15. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Insurance - Accident and Health was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.35 at yesterday's closing price.
The Insurance - Accident and Health industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 174, putting it in the bottom 31% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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Aflac (AFL) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Aflac (AFL - Free Report) closed at $56.42, marking a +0.75% move from the previous day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.21%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.03%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.01%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the insurer had gained 0.97% over the past month. This has lagged the Finance sector's gain of 1.97% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.2% in that time.
Aflac will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be August 1, 2022. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.29, down 18.87% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $4.81 billion, down 13.58% from the year-ago period.
AFL's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $5.21 per share and revenue of $19.55 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -12.29% and -11.56%, respectively.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Aflac. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.19% lower within the past month. Aflac is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
In terms of valuation, Aflac is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.75. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.59.
Also, we should mention that AFL has a PEG ratio of 2.15. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Insurance - Accident and Health was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.35 at yesterday's closing price.
The Insurance - Accident and Health industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 174, putting it in the bottom 31% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.