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

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $106.00 to $107.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target indicates a potential upside of 1.94% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on AFL. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays began coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.93.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $104.96. 1,189,664 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,234,440. The firm has a market cap of $58.78 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.96. 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 0.10. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $110.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.09.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The company 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 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. Aflac's revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aflac will post 7.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 6.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,807,079 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $429,319,000 after acquiring an additional 285,576 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 2,429,316 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $202,437,000 after buying an additional 31,752 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its position in shares of Aflac by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,276,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $254,382,000 after buying an additional 83,289 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 5.6% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,220,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $198,279,000 after buying an additional 117,504 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in Aflac by 26.6% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,929,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $172,338,000 after acquiring an additional 405,847 shares during the last quarter. 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.