Aflac Trading Slightly Higher Following Q1 Earnings Report

Aflac has a large portion of its business in Japan, and a stronger yen helped boost the company's revenues during the period, which climbed 5.1% higher than the same period last year to $5.1 billion.

The stronger yen-dollar ratio accounted for an increase of 5 cents in operating earnings during the quarter.

While its Japanese business segment remains strong, the company continues to see weakness in the U.S. market, where growth is being challenged by weak economic conditions. Aflac's senior vice president of investor relations, Ken Janke, stated that it was still not clear if the company would see a rebound in U.S. sales in the near-term.

Janke went on to say that the majority of customers who have purchased its products work for small companies, most of which have been under a great deal of economic pressure over the past year. Last year Aflac announced that it had been outbid in a proposal to provide its products to employees of Wal Mart (WMT).

A good way to see how well insurance companies are doing is by taking a look at their risk-based capital ratios. This ratio provides insight into the company's capital adequacy, and Aflac reported that its ratio exceed 525% during the quarter, up from 479% at the end of 2009.

Aflac forecast second-quarter earnings would fall between $1.33 and $1.38 per share; analysts are currently forecasting earnings of $1.33 per share.

The company also announced a second-quarter dividend of 28 cents per share, which is payable on June 1 for all shareholders as of May 19.

After-hours traders pushed the stock up 0.74% to $52.80 at one point, after a losing session on Tuesday, which saw the stock sell off 4.2%.