Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $347.06.

AON has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on AON from $338.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on AON from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on AON from $345.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AON from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

AON Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of AON stock opened at $358.05 on Friday. AON has a 12-month low of $268.06 and a 12-month high of $363.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92. The stock has a market cap of $77.78 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average of $345.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $315.31.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by ($0.15). AON had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 252.81%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.76 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that AON will post 15.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. AON’s payout ratio is 21.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of AON by 6.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 215,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,499,000 after buying an additional 12,850 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the third quarter valued at approximately $754,000. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new position in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at $270,000. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AON by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. increased its stake in AON by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides a range of risk and human capital solutions worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, specialty solutions, global risk consulting and captives management, and affinity programs; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.