Aegon NV (NYSE:AEG) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Aegon NV (NYSE:AEG) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,747,638 shares, a decline of 43.3% from the September 30th total of 4,845,750 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 7,261,224 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Aegon

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aegon during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aegon in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aegon in the 2nd quarter worth about $55,000. Angeles Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aegon during the 2nd quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, Affinity Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aegon during the 3rd quarter worth about $86,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AEG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Aegon from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aegon from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Aegon in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Aegon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aegon has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.00.

Aegon Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:AEG traded up $0.04 during trading on Monday, reaching $8.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,198,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,272,748. Aegon has a 12 month low of $6.75 and a 12 month high of $9.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.30.

Aegon Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were issued a $0.2455 dividend. This is a negative change from Aegon’s previous dividend of $0.2469. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 534.0%.

About Aegon

Aegon N.V. is an international financial services company that provides insurance, retirement, and investment products. Its offerings include life insurance, annuities, pensions, retirement plans, employee benefits, and asset management services for individuals, employers, and institutional clients.

Aegon conducts much of its business through the Transamerica brand in the United States, offering retirement solutions, life insurance, investment products, and workplace benefits. The company also has operations in selected European markets, including the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal, as well as international asset management activities.

Headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands, Aegon was formed in 1983 through the merger of Dutch insurers AGO and Ennia, whose roots extend back more than 175 years.