Aegon (NYSE:AEG) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Aegon (NYSE:AEG) has been upgraded from a "buy" to a "strong-buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating increasing confidence in the company's performance.
• The company recently authorized a new stock buyback program, suggesting management believes the shares are undervalued.
• Aegon's stock has shown significant increases in institutional investment, with notable stakes raised by firms like Arrowstreet Capital and BNP Paribas Financial Markets.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aegon (NYSE:AEG - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

Separately, Berenberg Bank raised shares of Aegon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Aegon Trading Down 0.1%

Aegon stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $7.69. The stock had a trading volume of 4,426,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,588,763. The company has a quick ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Aegon has a 52-week low of $5.42 and a 52-week high of $8.10. The firm has a market cap of $15.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $7.45 and a 200 day moving average of $6.93.

Aegon Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.1876 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 584.0%. Aegon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aegon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Aegon by 104.5% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 21,006,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $152,089,000 after purchasing an additional 10,732,972 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Aegon by 306.1% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,169,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,667,000 after buying an additional 4,650,272 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Aegon by 13.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,801,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,639,000 after buying an additional 582,622 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aegon by 2,348.0% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,482,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,200,000 after buying an additional 3,340,666 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aegon by 0.8% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,634,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,358,000 after buying an additional 20,015 shares during the period. 4.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.