AFLAC Incorporated & QEP Resources Jump After Earnings
AFLAC Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) shares popped up in the pre-market session as the company reported a sharp jump in its first quarter profit on increase sales.
The company reported net income of $785 million, or $1.68 a share, up from a year ago profit of $389 million, or 83 cents a share. On an adjusted basis, the company would have earned $814 million, or $1.74 a share, topping analysts’ estimates by 9 cents.
Revenue during the quarter surged 22% to $6.24 billion from $5.12 billion a year earlier, ahead of the average analyst estimate of $6.01 billion.
The company anticipates earnings for the year to be reduced by about 5 cents per share, reflecting costs associated with acquiring or renewing insurance contracts. It forecast an adjusted profit of $6.46 to $6.65 per share for the year before the effect of currency translation. Analysts expect a full-year profit of $6.48 per share, on average.
Meanwhile, the company declared a second-quarter cash dividend of 33 cents. The dividend will be paid on June 1 to shareholders of record on May 16.
Shares of AFL soared 5.45% to $44.30 in the pre-market session.
QEP Resources Inc (NYSE:QEP) reported increased first-quarter earnings boosted by hedging impacts as the exploration and production company also reported it benefited from increased oil and natural-gas liquids production and high crude prices.
The company posted profit of $155.2 million or $0.87 per share, compared to $73.2 million or $0.41 per share a year ago. On an adjusted basis, the company would have earned $73.7 million or $0.41 per share, higher than $53.6 million or $0.30 per share in the comparable quarter last year.
Revenue during the latest quarter jumped to $603.2 million from $617.9 million in the year-ago period.
Analysts were estimating the company to report a profit of 45 cents a share on revenue of $741.08 million.
Shares of QEP closed higher by 0.67% to $30 on Tuesday.