Is Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Potentially Underrated?
Building up an investment case requires looking at a stock holistically. Today I've chosen to put the spotlight on Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) due to its excellent fundamentals in more than one area. AFL is a highly-regarded dividend payer that has been able to sustain great financial health over the past. In the following section, I expand a bit more on these key aspects. For those interested in digger a bit deeper into my commentary, take a look at the report on Aflac here.
Established dividend payer with adequate balance sheet
AFL’s debt-to-equity ratio stands at 29%, which means its debt level is reasonable. This indicates a good balance between taking advantage of low cost funding through debt financing, but having enough financial flexibility and headroom to grow debt in the future. AFL seems to have put its debt to good use, generating operating cash levels of 0.88x total debt in the most recent year. This is also a good indication as to whether debt is properly covered by the company’s cash flows.
For those seeking income streams from their portfolio, AFL is a robust dividend payer as well. Over the past decade, the company has consistently increased its dividend payout, reaching a yield of 2.2%.
Next Steps:
For Aflac, I've compiled three fundamental aspects you should further examine:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for AFL’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for AFL’s outlook.
Historical Performance: What has AFL's returns been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of our analysis for more clarity.
Other Attractive Alternatives : Are there other well-rounded stocks you could be holding instead of AFL? Explore our interactive list of stocks with large potential to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
