Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Given New $102.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at Evercore ISI from $104.00 to $102.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target points to a potential downside of 4.46% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on AFL. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America increased their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays initiated 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.73.

Aflac Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of AFL opened at $106.76 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.97. Aflac has a 1 year low of $75.07 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.93.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Aflac by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. 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.