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Empresas y finanzas

Aflac says to meet earnings target, shares rise


    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Aflac Inc said on Friday it will post quarterly operating earnings in line with its target, sending shares up 18 percent a day after the insurer's stock sank on concerns about securities investments.

    Aflac also said it will maintain its dividend, and added it did not see a need for raising additional capital. It has an objective of operating earnings growth of 15 percent.

    Based on preliminary numbers, Aflac said its holdings of hybrid securities at fair value were $8.1 billion. The firm said the changes in the fair value of these hybrid securities did not affect its risk-based capital ratio.

    Morgan Stanley analyst Nigel Dally, in a note to clients, said on Thursday there had been a "severe decline in the price of various hybrid securities issued by European financial institutions."

    Concerns over the securities' value has grown as market conditions have worsened and amid speculation about the possible nationalization of some of these companies.

    Aflac will report fourth-quarter results after the market closes on February 2.

    Aflac shares were up $4.21 or 18.4 percent at $27.11 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday morning.

    (Reporting by Juan Lagorio, editing by Matthew Lewis