Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for AON (NYSE:AON) Stock Price

AON (NYSE:AON) had its price target dropped by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $416.00 to $401.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 24.92% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho raised AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $397.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $436.00 price target on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $385.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $398.00 to $397.00 in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $405.75.

AON Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:AON traded down $5.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $321.02. 403,726 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,440,529. AON has a 1 year low of $304.59 and a 1 year high of $387.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $327.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $341.31. The firm has a market cap of $68.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.83.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The company had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that AON will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,598,550.66. This represents a 19.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AON

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AON. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AON by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 70 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in AON in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in AON in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AON during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other 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.