Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, insurance giant Aflac (NYSE: AFL ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Aflac's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Aflac facts
| Headquarters (Founded) |
Columbus, Ga. (1955) |
| Market Cap |
$20.3 billion |
| Industry |
Life and health insurance |
| Trailing-12-Month Revenue |
$21.5 billion |
| Management |
Chairman/CEO Daniel Amos
President/CFO Kriss Cloninger III |
| Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) |
19.5% |
| Cash/Debt |
$1.96 billion / $4.2 billion |
| Dividend Yield |
3% |
| Competitors |
AIG (NYSE: AIG )
MetLife (NYSE: MET )
Prudential (NYSE: PRU ) |
Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 96% of the 1,889 CAPS members who have rated Aflac believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include All-Star aitraders and LegendPhoenix.
This past summer, aitraders listed several of Aflac's positives: "Excellent management, shareholder/employee friendly, dividend growth. ... Looks like a very well run company with lots of cash and cash flow, cheap metrics and, of course, the duck!"
Aflac even sports a solid three-year average return on capital of 15.1%. That's much higher than that of rivals MetLife (1.9%) and Prudential (2.9%), let alone AIG's negative average return on capital of -5.2%.
CAPS member LegendPhoenix elaborates on the bull case:
The trajectory of Aflac's stock price is that of a company who may have disrespected their customers, disappointed their shareholders or got caught doing something illegal or financially dumb -- but none of these are the case. They have paid the claims of their policyholders affected by the disasters in Japan. They continue to show their appreciation to investors in the form of a 3% dividend yield while maintaining very sustainable payout ratio of around 30%. ... And despite their losses from the derisking, a rough economy and high unemployment, Aflac's earnings are still favorable. Although the stock price may continue to drop for the short term, I feel the fundamentals of Aflac are strong and I can no longer resist the urge to buy at the current price.
What do you think about Aflac, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!
Interested in another easy way to track Aflac? Add it to your watchlist.
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