Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Upgraded at Evercore

Key Points

• Evercore upgraded Aflac from "strong sell" to "strong-buy" (Piper Sandler also upgraded to "strong-buy"), signaling a notable bullish shift among some analysts.
• Analyst coverage remains mixed—two Strong Buy, two Buy, six Hold and two Sell—leaving Aflac with an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.27.
• Aflac missed last quarter's EPS ($1.57 vs. $1.69 expected) with revenue down 9.6% year-over-year, and recent insider selling (including Post Holdings Japan trades under a 10b5-1 plan) may weigh on sentiment.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Evercore from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Aflac to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Mizuho set a $107.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 15th. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Barclays set a $101.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.27.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $113.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $58.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's fifty day moving average is $111.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.49. Aflac has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The business's revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 24,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.45, for a total value of $2,672,890.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,889,100 shares in the company, valued at $5,731,151,095. The trade was a 0.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 320,477 shares of company stock valued at $35,103,362. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 188.5% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Navalign LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Aflac News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat/Insider-trades coverage noted the stock was trading up intraday, indicating short-term buying interest that can offset headline pressure. MarketBeat Insider Trading Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Small lobbying disclosure: Quiver Quant reported $62,000 of Aflac lobbying in Q1 2026 (routine disclosure; unlikely to move fundamentals). Quiver Quant Lobbying Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks published an earnings preview piece highlighting the Earnings ESP tool; it's a sector-level note that may raise attention ahead of Aflac’s next report but contains no company-specific surprise. Zacks Earnings ESP Article
• Neutral Sentiment: MSN ran a pre-earnings primer on Aflac — background reading for investors but not new company-specific catalysts. MSN Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: UBS cut its price target on AFL from $116 to $114 and set a Neutral rating — a modest downgrade that signals limited near-term upside and likely contributed to selling pressure. Benzinga / TickerReport on UBS PT Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan (a major shareholder) executed multiple share sales under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan (recent blocks of ~21–24k shares at ~\$110). While each sale is small relative to its >51M-share stake, the cadence of sales and Quiver’s summary of sustained insider selling may weigh on sentiment. SEC filing and reporting links: SEC Filing InsiderTrades Report

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac's product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.