Short Interest in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Increases By 5.3%

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,400,000 shares, a growth of 5.3% from the August 15th total of 4,180,000 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Institutional Trading of AON

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AON. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in AON by 262.7% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its stake in AON by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in AON by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 76,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 6,962 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AON by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 6,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,947,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AON in the 4th quarter worth approximately $423,030,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Trading Up 0.8 %

AON stock opened at $350.69 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 2.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $326.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $310.44. AON has a 1 year low of $268.06 and a 1 year high of $353.54. The stock has a market cap of $76.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.48, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.92.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.08 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. AON had a return on equity of 252.81% and a net margin of 18.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.76 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AON will post 15.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on AON shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of AON from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on AON from $312.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on AON from $353.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on AON in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $394.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $337.27.

About AON

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.