Aegon Ltd. (NYSE:AEG) Short Interest Update

Aegon Ltd. (NYSE:AEG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,880,000 shares, an increase of 26.5% from the April 30th total of 7,020,000 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,850,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aegon by 1,136.2% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,846 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 4,454 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aegon by 526.8% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,635 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aegon during the 1st quarter worth $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aegon by 70.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 9,184 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 3,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Aegon during the 1st quarter worth $61,000. 4.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aegon Price Performance

AEG traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $7.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,939,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,856,210. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $6.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.39. The stock has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 0.92. Aegon has a twelve month low of $5.42 and a twelve month high of $7.32.

Aegon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.1992 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This is an increase from Aegon's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17. This represents a yield of 5.3%. Aegon's payout ratio is 34.38%.

Aegon declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, May 16th that allows the company to repurchase 0 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AEG shares. BNP Paribas Exane raised Aegon from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aegon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Aegon to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Aegon from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy".

Aegon Company Profile

Aegon Ltd. provides insurance, pensions, retirement, and asset management services in the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers life, accident, property and casualty, and health insurance; annuities, retirement plans, mutual funds, and stable value solutions; residential mortgage and digital baking services; and retail and institutional investment management solutions and retirement savings vehicles and strategies.