Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its target price increased by investment analysts at Truist Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target points to a potential upside of 0.28% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on AFL. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.87.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $104.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $110.52 and a 200-day moving average of $97.80. The company has a market cap of $58.64 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50.

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. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 22.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at $1,796,552.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in Aflac in the second quarter worth $25,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the first quarter worth $50,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the second quarter worth $54,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently 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.