UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its price objective lifted by analysts at UBS Group from $109.00 to $114.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 1.20% from the company’s current price.

AFL has been the topic of several other reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.29.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL traded up $0.20 on Wednesday, hitting $112.65. 257,058 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,119,747. The company has a market capitalization of $61.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a P/E/G 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. The business’s fifty day moving average is $106.71 and its 200 day moving average is $107.71. Aflac has a 52 week low of $79.31 and a 52 week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its 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 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trust Co of the South purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $205,000. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. bought a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $206,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 97.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 287,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,733,000 after purchasing an additional 142,028 shares during the period. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $934,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 19,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. 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.