Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from Piper Sandler

Key Points

• Piper Sandler raised Aflac’s price target to $143 from $138 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying 14.02% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed: MarketBeat reports a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $117.53, below Aflac’s Monday closing price of $125.42.
• Aflac beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $2.43 versus $1.80 expected and revenue of $4.30 billion versus $4.12 billion; revenue was down 31% year over year.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by Piper Sandler from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Piper Sandler's price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.02% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $116.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $137.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $117.53.

Aflac Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE AFL traded up $1.36 on Monday, hitting $125.42. 298,985 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,231,490. The company's 50 day moving average price is $117.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.55. Aflac has a twelve month low of $105.76 and a twelve month high of $131.18.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.63. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Aflac will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $13,466,311.83. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,134,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,942,422,016.37. This represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 713,062 shares of company stock valued at $83,249,518. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the second quarter valued at about $6,630,000. Atlas Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth about $1,802,000. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth about $2,546,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 137.4% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 40,904 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,796,000 after buying an additional 23,677 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 135.5% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 142,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,599,000 after buying an additional 81,803 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance to individuals and businesses. Its products are designed to help customers manage expenses that may not be covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with accidents, cancer, critical illness and hospital stays.

The company operates primarily in the United States and Japan. In the U.S., Aflac offers workplace benefits such as accident, disability, dental, vision and life insurance.

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