$4.86 Earnings Per Share Expected for Aon plc (NYSE:AON) This Quarter

Analysts expect Aon plc (NYSE:AON – Get Rating) to post earnings per share (EPS) of $4.86 for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Five analysts have issued estimates for AON’s earnings, with the lowest EPS estimate coming in at $4.75 and the highest estimate coming in at $4.98. AON reported earnings per share of $4.28 during the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year-over-year growth rate of 13.6%. The firm is scheduled to report its next earnings report before the market opens on Monday, January 1st.

On average, analysts expect that AON will report full year earnings of $13.23 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $12.99 to $13.68. For the next financial year, analysts expect that the firm will post earnings of $14.51 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $14.16 to $15.00. Zacks Investment Research’s EPS averages are a mean average based on a survey of analysts that cover AON.

AON (NYSE:AON – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.31. AON had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 87.65%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AON shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of AON from $326.00 to $321.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 4th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of AON from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $288.00 to $292.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 6th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of AON from $325.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 24th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised shares of AON from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $306.67.

In other news, CFO Christa Davies sold 616 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.72, for a total transaction of $174,771.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 82 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.31, for a total value of $25,281.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,390 shares of company stock valued at $11,982,022 in the last ninety days. 0.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of AON by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,235,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,210,438,000 after buying an additional 1,244,515 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in AON during the fourth quarter worth $269,546,000. Pensioenfonds Rail & OV bought a new position in AON during the fourth quarter worth $125,637,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in AON by 50.8% during the second quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 872,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $208,325,000 after purchasing an additional 293,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in AON by 15.4% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,182,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $623,800,000 after purchasing an additional 290,876 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.17% of the company’s stock.

NYSE:AON traded up $2.12 on Wednesday, reaching $330.38. The stock had a trading volume of 4,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,277,168. The company has a market cap of $72.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.44 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.11, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $305.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.00. AON has a 12-month low of $223.19 and a 12-month high of $336.41.

AON announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 2nd will be given a $0.56 dividend. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.62%.

AON Company Profile (Get Rating)

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides advice and solutions to clients focused on risk, retirement, and health worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, cyber, and global risk consulting solutions, as well as acts as a captives management; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.

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