Financial Companies Report Growth Through Recognitions, Rankings, and Corporate Announcements - Research Report on Progressive, BB&T, AFLAC, STT, and Validus

NEW YORK, November 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Today, Analysts' Corner announced new research reports highlighting Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR), BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT), AFLAC Inc. (NYSE: AFL), State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT), and Validus Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE: VR). Today's readers may access these reports free of charge - including full price targets, industry analysis and analyst ratings - via the links below.

Progressive Corp. Research Report

On November 12, 2013, Progressive Corp. (Progressive) announced that for the third consecutive year, Progressive Insurance has been named one of the nation's Top 100 Military Friendly Employers by G.I. Jobs. According to the Company, only companies with more than $500 million in revenue were eligible to compete, taking the count to more than 5,000 entrants- of whom only 2% made it to the top 100 list. Commenting on the recognition, John Hoppes, Progressive's National Recruiting Director stated, "We're very proud to once again be recognized for our strong commitment to military recruiting efforts across the company, at all of our locations countrywide. Transitioning service members bring a competitive and unique skill set to our work environment. We seek out people who can think strategically and are up for a challenge." The Full Research Report on Progressive Corp. - including full detailed breakdown, analyst ratings and price targets - is available to download free of charge at:

http://www.analystscorner.com/r/full_research_report/1d42_PGR

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BB&T Corporation Research Report

On November 13, 2013, BB&T Corporation (BB&T) announced that BB&T Wealth has opened its first office in the Dallas/Ft. Worth region. According to BB&T, the addition of wealth management services continues a major expansion in Texas by the Company. Kay St. John, Region President for BB&T, stated, "BB&T is excited about adding wealth management to the services we already offer to our Texas clients. With the addition of 30 financial centers to our community banking network in the past year and the opening of our North Texas wealth management office, BB&T is positioned to serve the full array of business and personal banking needs for our clients in Texas." The Full Research Report on BB&T Corporation - including full detailed breakdown, analyst ratings and price targets - is available to download free of charge at:

http://www.analystscorner.com/r/full_research_report/d275_BBT

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AFLAC Inc. Research Report

On November 13, 2013, AFLAC Inc.'s (AFLAC) Board of Directors has authorized the purchase of up to 40 million shares of its common stock. The authorization is in addition to the 16.9 million shares that remained under a previous authorization as of September 30, 2013, bringing the total number of shares available for purchase to approximately 56.9 million. Daniel P. Amos, Chairman and CEO stated, "I am very pleased with today's action by our board of directors. Whether we're talking about our operations in Japan or the U.S., as an insurance company, our primary mission is to fulfill our obligations to our policyholders. At the same time, we are listening to our shareholders and understand the importance of capital deployment. In our third quarter of 2013 earnings release, we announced a 5.7% increase in the quarterly cash dividend, which is payable on December 2, 2013, to shareholders of record at the close of trading on November 20, 2013. We also increased our expected share repurchase to $800 million of our shares in 2013 and $800 million to $1 billion of our shares in 2014." The Full Research Report on AFLAC Inc. - including full detailed breakdown, analyst ratings and price targets - is available to download free of charge at:

http://www.analystscorner.com/r/full_research_report/8042_AFL

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State Street Corp. Research Report

On November 13, 2013, State Street Corp. (State Street) announced the winner of the 12th annual State Street UK Institutional Press Awards in recognition of outstanding performance in institutional financial services reporting. The winners include: Padraig Floyd, Freelance - Journalist of the Year - Pension Issues; Martin Steward, Investment Editor, Investment & Pensions Europe - Journalist of the Year - Investment; and Faye Kilburn, European Reporter, Inside Market Data - Journalist of the Year - Investor Services & Technology, to name a few. Lead Judge, Charles Batchelor, Freelance Journalist stated, "This year's entries confirmed that conveying useful information is an important role of the journalist. The ability to inject life and colour into frequently dry, technical areas of the world of pensions and investments is what has distinguished this year's winners. In particular, the quality of writing in Investor Services and Technology, at first sight a more technical category, was high this year while Alternatives also produced a number of very strong entries." The Full Research Report on State Street Corp. - including full detailed breakdown, analyst ratings and price targets - is available to download free of charge at:

http://www.analystscorner.com/r/full_research_report/1926_STT

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Validus Holdings, Ltd. Research Report

On November 4, 2013, Validus Holdings, Ltd. (Validus) announced that the Company's Board of Directors has authorized an increase in its common share repurchase authorization to $500.0 million. Validus expects the repurchases to be made from time to time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. Jeff Sangster, Validus' CFO, stated, "The increase in Validus' common share repurchase authorization to $500 million is an affirmation of our commitment to return excess capital to shareholders. This authorization gives us the flexibility to manage capital prudently as conditions warrant." The Full Research Report on Validus Holdings, Ltd. - including full detailed breakdown, analyst ratings and price targets - is available to download free of charge at:

http://www.analystscorner.com/r/full_research_report/5ea1_VR

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