Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised Aflac’s price target from $116 to $124 but kept an “equal weight” rating; the new target is about 2.4% below the stock’s then-current price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Aflac has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $118.73.
• Aflac beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $2.43 per share versus $1.80 expected and $4.30 billion in revenue; revenue was down 31% year over year.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $116.00 to $124.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective suggests a potential downside of 2.37% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on AFL. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $101.00 target price (up from $99.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $125.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $118.73.

Aflac Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of AFL stock opened at $127.01 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.55. Aflac has a 12-month low of $105.76 and a 12-month high of $131.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $118.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.48.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.63. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.49 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Aflac will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,134,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,942,422,016.37. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 700,062 shares of company stock valued at $81,675,348. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. TIAA CREF Individual & Institutional Services LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. TIAA CREF Individual & Institutional Services LLC now owns 19,734 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 16,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,890,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,669 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,508,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its position in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 7,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $784,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

About Aflac

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. In Japan, it provides products including cancer, medical and life insurance.

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