Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Upgraded at Evercore

Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) from a strong sell rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

AFL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays set a $101.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Aflac to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.27.

Aflac Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $110.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $111.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.66. Aflac has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aflac will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,723,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,641,978. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 486,477 shares of company stock valued at $53,758,442. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Aflac by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,483,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $494,385,000 after buying an additional 69,025 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Aflac by 0.3% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,926,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $438,621,000 after buying an additional 13,666 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $420,078,000. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,664,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,846,000 after buying an additional 32,907 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore upgraded AFL from “strong sell” to “strong buy” — a bullish broker action that can attract buyers and support the stock. Zacks Coverage of Evercore Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $115 and kept a “market perform” rating—small incremental upside from current levels that may steady sentiment. Benzinga on KBW PT Raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its target to $116 but kept an “equal weight” view — a mild model update rather than a clear buy/sell signal. Benzinga on Wells Fargo PT Change
• Neutral Sentiment: Market/valuation discussion and pre‑earnings writeups (Yahoo Finance piece) are highlighting Aflac’s multi‑year run vs. mixed valuation signals — useful context but not an immediate catalyst. Yahoo Finance Valuation Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Small Q1 lobbying disclosure ($62k) was reported — routine regulatory transparency, unlikely to move fundamentals. Quiver Quant Lobbying Update
• Negative Sentiment: UBS cut its price target to $114 and moved to a Neutral rating — a downgrade that likely pressured sentiment and contributed to selling. AmericanBankingNews on UBS PT Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Post Holdings Co., Ltd. Japan (a >10% holder) has executed a string of disclosed share sales under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan (multiple blocks at ~\$109–\$112). The cadence of these sales, while planned and small versus its total stake, is weighing on market sentiment. SEC Filing (Post Holdings Sales)

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.