Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock Price Target Raised at Piper Sandler

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler‘s price target points to a potential upside of 14.02% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $101.00 price objective (up from $99.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Aflac from $119.00 to $123.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $125.00 target price (up from $124.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.53.

Aflac Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE AFL traded up $1.36 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $125.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 298,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,231,490. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.28, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.55. Aflac has a fifty-two week low of $105.76 and a fifty-two week high of $131.18.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS 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 business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Aflac will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $13,466,311.83. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,134,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,942,422,016.37. This represents a 0.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 713,062 shares of company stock worth $83,249,518. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Markowski Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.