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

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $106.00 to $107.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 2.10% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.93.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $104.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 319,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,230,101. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $110.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.96. Aflac has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Aflac will post 7.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $215,000. Choreo LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at $253,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth $631,000. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 58.4% in the first quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 4,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.