What You Have Bought This Week: Aviva plc

Published in Company Comment on 22 February 2013

Recently it has been insurance group Aviva plc (LON: AV).

One of Warren Buffett's famous investing sayings is "be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful" - or, in other words, sell when others are buying and buy when they're selling.

But we might expect Foolish investors to know that, and looking at what Fools have been buying recently might well provide us with some ideas for good investments.

So, in this series of articles, we're going to look at what customers of The Motley Fool ShareDealing Service have been buying in the past week or so, and what might have made them decide to do so.

Enormous yield

At number six in the latest 'Top Ten Buys'* is insurance group Aviva (LSE: AV) (NYSE: AV.US)

In terms of capital growth, Aviva hasn't exactly been a stellar performer, with its share price down some 22% over the past couple of years.

Currently trading at a P/E of around 10, the company arguably looks great value. But earnings per share forecasts for 2013 vary so wildly -- anything from 12p to 58p -- that it's clear no-one's really got a clue what will happen, and the company's P/E probably wouldn't be a reliable 'buy' sign.

But one thing that may have attracted Fools is the enormous yield. At its current price of 357p, Aviva yields more than 7% --  more than twice the FTSE100 average, and significantly higher than a savings account would offer.

Obviously, there's always a risk that a dividend will be cut, but with a strategic restructuring of the company proceeding well, and chairman John McFarlane on record saying he's working save the dividend, Aviva's payout seems safe for now, although it's unlikely to be increased in the year or two ahead.

A high-quality income share

If you already own Aviva and are looking for another high yield, then this particularly high-quality income opportunity might be for you.

Indeed, the company in question boasts a 5.7% dividend yield and impressed Fool analysts so much they've named this share "The Motley Fool's Top Income Stock For 2013"!

This exclusive new report is completely free, but will available for a limited time only -- so click here to download your copy now.

> Jon owns shares in Aviva. *based on aggregate data from The Motley Fool ShareDealing Service.

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Comments

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kiffberet 22 Feb 2013 , 3:48pm

"... Aviva's payout seems safe for now..."
The market certainly don't think so...

goodlifer 24 Feb 2013 , 10:03pm

kiffberet
"... Aviva's payout seems safe for now..."
The market certainly don't think so..."

Time to buy?

vinchainsaw 25 Feb 2013 , 10:04am

If the dividend was safe and the earnings assured, you wouldnt be able to buy it at the current prices; you'd be paying 50% more.

TMFTarantula 25 Feb 2013 , 3:27pm

Whether Aviva's dividend is at risk is the topic of a Foolish investing video today - it's at http://www.fool.co.uk/news/investing/investing-strategy/2013/02/25/why-rsa-insurance-group-cut-its-dividend.aspx

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