Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price target lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $90.00 to $94.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 9.17% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on AFL. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.13.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock traded up $1.70 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $103.49. 530,163 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,364,686. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.57. The firm has a market cap of $57.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac has a 1-year low of $75.07 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The business’s revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Spinnaker Trust grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 2.7% during the third quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.0% in the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.6% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,539,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC grew its position in Aflac by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.