Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Increased to $95.00 by Analysts at Piper Sandler

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $90.00 to $95.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price indicates a potential upside of 11.22% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on AFL. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Aflac from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.58.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock opened at $85.42 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $81.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.17. Aflac has a 12-month low of $64.06 and a 12-month high of $86.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.22). Aflac had a net margin of 24.92% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aflac will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the transaction, the director now owns 86,090 shares in the company, valued at $6,879,451.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at $445,850.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total transaction of $2,436,695.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 86,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,879,451.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,493 shares of company stock valued at $3,765,706 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 471.4% during the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.