JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Price Target to $90.00

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $85.00 to $90.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 21.92% from the company’s previous close.

AFL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays began coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.43.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $115.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac has a 1 year low of $75.07 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $106.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.88.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Aflac will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,796,552.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 6.7% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,806,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,140,000 after acquiring an additional 113,226 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Aflac by 6.4% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 98,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,800,000 after purchasing an additional 5,912 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in Aflac by 3.3% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 718,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,653,000 after purchasing an additional 22,637 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Aflac by 13.9% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 708,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,810,000 after purchasing an additional 86,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,535,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.