Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target Raised to $90.00

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $85.00 to $90.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 20.51% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on AFL. Bank of America upped their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays started coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Three 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.43.

Aflac Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of AFL stock traded down $1.01 on Thursday, hitting $113.22. 384,869 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,251,915. Aflac has a fifty-two week low of $74.89 and a fifty-two week high of $114.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $105.62 and a 200 day moving average of $93.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,539,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 21,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 3.7% during the second quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 3,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 21,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,942,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

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.