Private Advisor Group LLC Cuts Stake in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Private Advisor Group LLC lessened its stake in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 40.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,894 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in AerCap were worth $264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AER. Darsana Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in AerCap in the 3rd quarter valued at $94,720,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new stake in AerCap in the third quarter worth $60,526,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in AerCap by 137.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 834,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,857,000 after purchasing an additional 483,564 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted 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 purchasing an additional 370,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in AerCap by 5.3% during the third 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. Institutional investors own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

AerCap Stock Performance

Shares of AerCap stock opened at $102.05 on Thursday. AerCap Holdings has a 52 week low of $79.51 and a 52 week high of $107.36. The company has a market capitalization of $19.06 billion, a PE ratio of 8.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $97.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

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

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

AerCap Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. This is an increase from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. AerCap’s payout ratio is 9.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AER has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.17.

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.