Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Raised to $108.00

Key Points

• Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods have raised Aflac's price target from $106.00 to $108.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.37% from the stock's previous close.
• The stock has an average rating of "Hold" from analysts, with 2 sell ratings, 9 hold ratings, and 3 buy ratings currently assigned.
• Aflac's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.78, exceeding expectations, though revenue of $4.16 billion was below consensus estimates.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective suggests a potential upside of 4.37% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AFL. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group cut their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Aflac from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.08.

Aflac Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $103.48 on Monday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $102.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.89. The firm has a market cap of $55.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%. Aflac's revenue was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. This trade represents a 34.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total transaction of $290,675.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,149.60. The trade was a 29.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,213,449 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $125,519,000 after buying an additional 11,345 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $647,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 11,030 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,141,000 after buying an additional 711 shares during the period. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 3,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aflac

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.