Aegon loses a bull after it pulled financial targets, cut dividend
Aug. 17, 2020 11:59 AM ETAegon N.V. (AEG)By: Liz Kiesche, SA News Editor4 Comments
CFRA analyst Jun Zhang Tan downgrades Aegon (AEG -1.7%) to Hold from Strong Buy, saying the stock's discount is "fair to reflect its weaker profitability profile" vs. peers.
Points to the negative surprise of Aegon pulling its 2019-2021 financial targets, which Tan thinks "is due to challenges in its U.S. operations."
Also notes Aegon cancelling its 2019 final dividend and rebasing its H1 2020 dividend per share down 60%.
Lowers 2020 EPS estimate to EUR 0.60 vs. EUR 0.69 and 2021 EPS estimate to EUR 0.62 from EUR 0.72.
"While the valuation is cheap, we caution on limited visibility in AGN's dividend policy, earnings outlook, and cash flow generation," Tan writes.
Tan's rating lines up with the Quant rating of Neutral.
See Aegon's dividend history:
Previously: Aegon drops after pulling financial targets (Aug. 13)