Piper Sandler Cuts Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target to $118.00

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective reduced by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $122.00 to $118.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price points to a potential upside of 14.34% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.43.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $103.20 on Friday. Aflac has a 52-week low of $77.01 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a market cap of $57.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.72.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,004,000 after purchasing an additional 3,528 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 393,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,743,000 after buying an additional 141,580 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 241,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,986,000 after buying an additional 18,028 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in Aflac by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 559,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,143,000 after acquiring an additional 38,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 198.5% in the fourth quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,329,000 after acquiring an additional 45,366 shares during the period. 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.