More Topics:
Why Aflac May Soar By 40%
Posted February 22, 2012
We Recommend...
By Takeover Analyst
Life insurers and healthcare plan companies are preferred on the Street with Aflac (AFL), Cigna (CI) and WellPoint (WLP) all receiving "buys". Based on my review of the fundamentals and multiples analysis, I find strong upside for all of the firms.
From a multiples perspective, all three are relatively cheap. Cigna trades at a respective 8.2x and 7.5x past and forward earnings, WellPoint trades at a respective 9.2x and 7.8x past and forward earnings, Aflac trades at a respective 11.5x and 6.8x past and forward earnings. To put this into perspective, consider that Aflac is currently valued at 79% of its historical 5-year average PE multiple versus 71% for Cigna and 95% for WellPoint.
At the fourth quarter earnings call, Aflac's Chairman & CEO, Dan Amos, noted particularly srong performance in Japan:
We were again pleased with Aflac Japan's financial performance and particularly the tremendous sales momentum they produced. New annualized premium sales rose 31% to 48.6 billion yen for the quarter, which significantly exceeded our expectations and set all-time quarterly record. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
blog comments powered by