Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Aviva (LON:AV) Stock Price

Key Points

• Citigroup trimmed its price target on Aviva to GBX 671 and retained a neutral rating, implying roughly a 5.1% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed but consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of GBX 701.50 (range GBX 650–750), while the stock traded at GBX 638.40—below the consensus target.
• Insider buying has been active: insiders purchased 33,249 shares in the last 90 days (≈$21.16m), though insiders still own only 0.17% of the company.

Aviva (LON:AV - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at Citigroup from GBX 687 to GBX 671 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Digital Look reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Citigroup's price target suggests a potential upside of 5.11% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on AV. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a GBX 650 price target on shares of Aviva in a research report on Friday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a GBX 735 price objective on shares of Aviva in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 750 price target on shares of Aviva in a report on Friday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aviva has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of GBX 701.50.

Aviva Stock Performance

Shares of LON AV traded up GBX 1.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting GBX 638.40. The company had a trading volume of 8,030,054 shares. 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 has a 1 year low of GBX 390.70 and a 1 year high of GBX 510.20. The company has a market capitalization of £17.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50-day moving average price is GBX 669.31 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 643.70.

Insider Transactions at Aviva

In other news, insider Cheryl Agius purchased 7,284 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 683 per share, with a total value of £49,749.72. Also, insider Pippa Lambert acquired 229 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 642 per share, with a total value of £1,470.18. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 33,249 shares of company stock valued at $21,155,518. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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.

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