JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $94.00 to $96.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would indicate a potential downside of 14.62% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.50.

Aflac Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of AFL stock opened at $112.44 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $106.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.71. Aflac has a 1-year low of $79.31 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company has a market cap of $61.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. On average, research analysts expect that Aflac will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,395,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP grew its position in Aflac by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 15,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 7,524 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 27.8% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 7,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 1,647 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.5% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 468,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,327,000 after purchasing an additional 20,032 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 47.7% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 17,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 5,800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.