Evercore ISI Issues Positive Forecast for Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock Price

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Evercore ISI from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has an “underperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target indicates a potential downside of 2.72% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $104.00 target price (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.30.

Aflac Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AFL traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $114.11. The stock had a trading volume of 314,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,183,895. Aflac has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.43. The company has a market cap of $61.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $108.84 and its 200-day moving average is $105.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts predict that Aflac will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.0% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 762,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $85,169,000 after buying an additional 36,642 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in Aflac by 3.6% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 103,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,595,000 after purchasing an additional 3,630 shares in the last quarter. Moment Partners LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 2.1% during the third quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 6,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 126.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 21,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,384,000 after acquiring an additional 11,903 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.