Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,570,000 shares, an increase of 6.5% from the December 31st total of 4,290,000 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days.

AON Stock Up 1.2 %

AON stock opened at $375.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $81.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.64, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $366.35 and a 200-day moving average of $354.50. AON has a fifty-two week low of $268.06 and a fifty-two week high of $395.33.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a return on equity of 70.84% and a net margin of 16.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AON will post 17.39 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on AON shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on AON from $344.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on AON from $415.00 to $411.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of AON from $345.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $380.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total transaction of $494,292.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,291.36. This represents a 13.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.34, for a total transaction of $256,321.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,816 shares in the company, valued at $716,121.44. This represents a 26.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AON

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AON during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in AON by 2,025.0% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 85 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of AON by 1,162.5% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AON Company Profile

Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing.