Aviva (LON:AV) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Aviva plc (LON:AV)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as GBX 558.80 ($7.22) and last traded at GBX 555.20 ($7.17), with a volume of 7198026 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 560.60 ($7.24).

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on AV shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “top pick” rating on shares of Aviva in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Aviva from GBX 615 ($7.95) to GBX 635 ($8.20) and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of GBX 585.67 ($7.57).

Aviva Trading Down 1.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of £14.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 525.07 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 493.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 68.87.

Aviva (LON:AV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported GBX 23.60 ($0.30) EPS for the quarter. Aviva had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.82%. Analysts anticipate that Aviva plc will post 46.4942529 EPS for the current year.

Aviva Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of GBX 23.80 ($0.31) per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.25%. This is a positive change from Aviva’s previous dividend of $11.90. Aviva’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Amanda Blanc sold 523,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 555 ($7.17), for a total value of £2,906,690.40 ($3,755,413.95). 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aviva Company Profile

Aviva plc provides various insurance, retirement, investment, and savings products in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and internationally. The company offers life insurance, long-term health and accident insurance, savings, pension, and annuity products, as well as pension fund business and lifetime mortgage products.