Bank of America Has Lowered Expectations for Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock Price

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $137.00 to $133.00 in a report released on Monday. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.21% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Aflac from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $138.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $107.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.00.

Aflac Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:AFL opened at $116.46 on Monday. Aflac has a one year low of $105.43 and a one year high of $130.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.56.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%. The business had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Aflac will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 20,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.49, for a total value of $2,369,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,667,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,003,614,588.10. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 478,851 shares of company stock valued at $55,701,247 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,093,787,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth about $404,639,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth about $298,418,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth about $244,516,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Aflac by 161.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,968,738 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America maintained a “buy” rating while lowering its price target from $137 to $133, implying meaningful upside from recent levels and providing the strongest positive analyst signal.
• Positive Sentiment: Aflac’s 16th annual WorkForces Report highlighted persistent employee financial vulnerability and growing use of benefits education, including artificial intelligence. These trends could support long-term demand for supplemental insurance products. Aflac WorkForces Report
• Neutral Sentiment: KBW reaffirmed its “hold” rating, while broader sell-side coverage continues to characterize Aflac as fairly valued rather than a strong near-term buying opportunity. KBW Hold Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo cut its price target from $122 to $116 and retained an “equal weight” rating. The new target is close to the recent trading price, suggesting limited upside in the near term. Wells Fargo Aflac Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 Aflac shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sale was only 0.03% of its position, so it is unlikely to materially affect the investment case, but it adds a modest insider-selling signal.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance products to individuals, employers and groups. Its coverage is designed to help policyholders manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with illness, injury and other qualifying events.

The company’s products include accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, disability, dental, vision and life insurance. Aflac distributes its policies through workplace benefits programs, independent agents, brokers and other distribution channels.

Founded in 1955 as American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus, Aflac has its headquarters in Columbus, Georgia.