Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock Price

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Barclays from $96.00 to $98.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential downside of 4.57% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Aflac to $107.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.87.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $102.69. 502,217 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,174,039. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.48. The firm has a market cap of $57.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.47, 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased 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 buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Company Profile

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.