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

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $408.4706.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AON. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on AON from $410.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of AON from $433.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $402.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AON

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in AON by 2.2% during the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,095,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of AON by 5.7% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 57,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,398,000 after purchasing an additional 3,067 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in AON by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,793,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. grew its stake in AON by 27.8% in the second quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. now owns 19,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,326 shares during the period. Finally, First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown increased its holdings in shares of AON by 565.8% during the second quarter. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown now owns 6,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after acquiring an additional 5,658 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $342.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $73.63 billion, a PE ratio of 27.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.84. AON has a 52 week low of $323.73 and a 52 week high of $412.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $347.81 and its 200-day moving average is $353.79. 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 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. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.97 billion. AON had a return on equity of 48.88% and a net margin of 15.96%.AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AON will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.88%.

About AON

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.