Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Receives $116.17 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $116.1667.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AFL. Mizuho set a $112.00 price target on Aflac in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, July 10th.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $127.53 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Aflac has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $130.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Groupe la Francaise bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.