Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 3,542 Shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 234,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,542 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.12% of AerCap worth $22,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AER. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AerCap by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 205,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,465,000 after buying an additional 17,348 shares in the last quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AerCap by 169.7% during the 3rd quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 53,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,111,000 after buying an additional 33,950 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in AerCap by 66.8% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 279,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,503,000 after purchasing an additional 112,084 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in AerCap by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AerCap by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

AerCap Price Performance

NYSE AER opened at $103.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $19.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83. AerCap Holdings has a 52-week low of $81.93 and a 52-week high of $107.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $98.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.53.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AerCap declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AER shares. Susquehanna boosted 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. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective on shares of AerCap in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group lowered shares of AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.43.

About AerCap

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.