How to buy Aviva (AV) shares

Aviva plc (AV) is a leading insurance-diversified business based in the UK. It opened the day at 399.8p after a previous close of 397.8p. During the day the price has varied from a low of 398.301p to a high of 405p. The latest price was 405p (25 minute delay). Aviva is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and employs 28,596 staff. All prices are listed in pence sterling.

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How has coronavirus impacted Aviva's share price?

Since the stock market crash that started in February 2020, Aviva's share price has had significant positive movement.

Its last market close was 411.2p, which is 1.73% up on its pre-crash value of 404.1p and 99.90% up on the lowest point reached during the March 2020 crash when the shares fell as low as 205.7p.

If you had bought £1,000 worth of Aviva shares at the start of February 2020, those shares would have been worth £525.66 at the bottom of the March crash, and if you held on to them, then as of the last market close they'd be worth £1,024.42.

Aviva share price (LSE:AV)

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Fees for buying 100x Aviva shares with popular platforms

Share prices fluctuate in real time, so the costs presented here should be considered as a guide only. They do not incorporate stamp duty. Always refer to the platform itself for availability and pricing – which may differ from our information.

Platform	Platform fee	Min. initial deposit	Trading fee estimate
	£0	$200	£0.00 £405.00 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	£0	No minimum	£0.00 £405.00 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	£0	£0.01	£1.81 £406.81 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	£0	£1	£11.95 £416.95 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	£9.99 per month	No minimum	£7.99 £412.99 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	£0	No minimum	£0.00 £405.00 total	Read review Capital at risk
	£36 per year	£20	£9.50 £414.50 total	Read review Capital at risk

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Is it a good time to buy Aviva stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Is Aviva under- or over-valued?

Valuing a stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge value.

P/E ratio

Aviva's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 6x. In other words, Aviva shares trade at around 6x recent earnings.

That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the FTSE 250 at the end of September 2019 (19.71). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.

However, Aviva's P/E ratio is best considered in relation to those of others within the insurance-diversified industry or those of similar companies.

• Admiral Group (ADM.LSE): 18.88
• Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG.LSE): 11.64
• AA (AA.LSE): 2.99

PEG ratio

Aviva's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 2.1555. A PEG ratio over 1 can be interpreted as meaning shares are overvalued at the current rate of growth, or may anticipate an acceleration in growth.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Aviva's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

However, it's sensible to consider Aviva's PEG ratio in relation to those of similar companies.

• Admiral Group (ADM.LSE): 1.47
• Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG.LSE): 1.83

EBITDA

Aviva's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is a whopping £4 billion.

The EBITDA is a measure of a Aviva's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

To put that into context you can compare it against similar companies.

• Admiral Group (ADM.LSE): £640.5 million
• Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG.LSE): £603.2 million
• AA (AA.LSE): £270 million
• Saga (SAGA.LSE): £50.4 million

Environmental, social and governance track record

Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Aviva.

Total ESG risk score

Aviva's total ESG risk: 26.64

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Aviva's overall score of 26.64 (as at 12/31/2018) is pretty good – landing it in it in the 37th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Aviva is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).

To gain some more context, you can compare Aviva's total ESG risk score against those of similar companies.

• Admiral Group (ADM.LSE): 25.17
• Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG.LSE): 22.25

Environmental score

Aviva's environmental score: 4.45/100

Aviva's environmental score of 4.45 puts it squarely in the 5th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Aviva is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Social score

Aviva's social score: 14.07/100

Aviva's social score of 14.07 puts it squarely in the 5th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Aviva is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

Governance score

Aviva's governance score: 13.12/100

Aviva's governance score puts it squarely in the 5th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Aviva is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Controversy score

Aviva's controversy score: 2/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. A high-profile company, Aviva scored a 2 out of 5 for controversy – the second-highest score possible, reflecting that Aviva has, for the most part, managed to keep its nose clean.

Wondering how that compares? Below are the controversy scores of similar companies.

• Admiral Group (ADM.LSE): 1
• Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG.LSE): 2

Aviva share dividends

• Dividend yield
• Forward yield
• Payout ratio

Aviva has recently paid out dividends equivalent to 5.44% of its share value annually.

Aviva has paid out, on average, around 39.71% of recent net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 5.38% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), shareholders could enjoy a 5.38% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Aviva's case, that would currently equate to about 21p per share.

While Aviva's payout ratio might seem fairly standard, it's worth remembering that it may be investing much of the rest of its net profits in future growth.

The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 7 April 2021 (the "ex-dividend date").

Aviva's dividend yield is perhaps best considered in relation to those of similar companies.

• Admiral Group (ADM.LSE): 3.51% (3.79% forward annual dividend yield)
• Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG.LSE): 7.39% (7.39% forward annual dividend yield)
• AA (AA.LSE): 0.00% (does not pay dividend)
• Saga (SAGA.LSE): 0.00% (does not pay dividend)

Have Aviva's shares ever split?

Aviva's shares were split on a 12:11 basis on 24 March 2009. So if you had owned 11 shares the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 12 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Aviva shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 8.3% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Aviva shares which in turn could have impacted Aviva's share price.

Share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Aviva's shares have ranged in value from as little as 253.6622p up to 426.6p. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (LSE average) beta is 1, while Aviva's is 1.2644. This would suggest that Aviva's shares are more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

To put Aviva's beta into context you can compare it against those of similar companies.

• Admiral Group (ADM.LSE): 0.2672
• Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG.LSE): 0.4751
• AA (AA.LSE): 2.4989
• Saga (SAGA.LSE): 2.4751

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Frequently asked questions

• Where can I buy Aviva shares in the UK?

  You can buy and sell Aviva shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: AV) in the UK, and can also get indirect exposure to the Aviva share price by investing in a FTSE 100 index fund or exchange-traded fund.

• What affects the Aviva share price?

  The Aviva share price will change based on a number of factors, including the company's fundamentals, such as earnings, profits, outlook and performance, and wider stock market trends. Like with many stocks, the price of Aviva shares also declined in February and March 2020 as a result of the coronavirus stock market crash.

• What percentage of Aviva is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 0.349% of Aviva shares are held by insiders and 49.102% by institutions.

• How many people work for Aviva?

  Latest data suggests 28,596 work at Aviva.

• When does the fiscal year end for Aviva?

  Aviva's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is Aviva based?

  Aviva's address is: St Helen?s, London, United Kingdom, EC3P 3DQ

• What is Aviva's ISIN number?

  Aviva's international securities identification number is: GB0002162385