HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 182 Shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 182 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in AerCap were worth $1,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AerCap by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,601,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $545,726,000 after purchasing an additional 282,980 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in AerCap by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,862,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $460,579,000 after acquiring an additional 370,906 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in shares of AerCap by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,934,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,802,000 after acquiring an additional 86,548 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of AerCap by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,550,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,068,000 after acquiring an additional 167,830 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of AerCap by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,737,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,574,000 after purchasing an additional 22,346 shares during the period. 96.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AerCap Price Performance

Shares of AER stock opened at $103.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. AerCap Holdings has a twelve month low of $81.93 and a twelve month high of $107.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.94.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.75. AerCap had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. On average, analysts predict that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AerCap announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. This is a positive change from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AER. UBS Group downgraded shares of AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AerCap has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.43.

AerCap Profile

AerCap Holdings N.V. engages in the lease, financing, sale, and management of commercial flight equipment in China, Hong Kong, Macau, the United States, Ireland, and internationally. The company offers aircraft asset management services, such as remarketing aircraft and engines; collecting rental and maintenance rent payments, monitoring aircraft maintenance, monitoring and enforcing contract compliance, and accepting delivery and redelivery of aircraft and engines; and conducting ongoing lessee financial performance reviews.