Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $413.1765.

Several analysts have recently commented on AON shares. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of AON from $419.00 to $416.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of AON from $451.00 to $448.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on AON from $400.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON opened at $344.39 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.84. AON has a 52 week low of $323.73 and a 52 week high of $412.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $347.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $355.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.14. AON had a return on equity of 48.88% and a net margin of 15.96%.The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.72 earnings per share. AON’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that AON will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a $0.745 dividend. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. AON’s payout ratio is 23.88%.

Institutional Trading of AON

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 0.9% in the second quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co boosted its stake in AON by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its holdings in AON by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 1,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. MBL Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of AON by 2.1% during the first quarter. MBL Wealth LLC now owns 1,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its position in shares of AON by 5.7% in the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.