Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Raised to $106.00

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its target price upped by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $104.00 to $106.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would suggest a potential downside of 0.25% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AFL. StockNews.com lowered shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.21.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL opened at $106.27 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $58.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.71. Aflac has a fifty-two week low of $84.30 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aflac will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the first quarter valued at about $479,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its stake in Aflac by 467.9% during the first quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 44,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,926,000 after buying an additional 36,500 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 15.5% in the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Aflac by 15.7% in the first quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 58,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,523,000 after purchasing an additional 7,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 4.1% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 271,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,200,000 after purchasing an additional 10,765 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by 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.