Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company raised Aflac's price target from $105.00 to $107.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.71% from the previous close.
• Aflac's recent quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $1.78, exceeding estimates, but revenue fell by 19.0% compared to the same period last year.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Aflac, with two sell ratings, nine holds, and three buys, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $108.23.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $107.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective points to a potential upside of 2.71% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group dropped their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.23.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $104.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,012,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,157,834. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $102.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.89. The company has a market capitalization of $55.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.62, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.83. Aflac has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its position in Aflac by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Aflac by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC raised its position in Aflac by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in Aflac by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc raised its position in Aflac by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 3,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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