AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 792,200 shares, a growth of 28.3% from the December 15th total of 617,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 264,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on AIR. KeyCorp initiated coverage on AAR in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of AAR in a report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of AAR from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of AAR in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

AAR Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE AIR traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $70.25. The stock had a trading volume of 165,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,787. The company has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 250.91 and a beta of 1.61. AAR has a twelve month low of $54.71 and a twelve month high of $76.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $65.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.22.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.07. AAR had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The firm had revenue of $686.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $654.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AAR will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Jessup sold 33,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,357,062.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,449,913.60. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Jessica A. Garascia sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $100,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 37,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,513,098.50. This trade represents a 3.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 180,793 shares of company stock worth $12,184,346 over the last three months. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in AAR in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AAR in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AAR by 43.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of AAR by 32.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,324 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new position in AAR in the second quarter valued at $218,000. 90.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AAR Company Profile

AAR Corp. provides products and services to commercial aviation, government, and defense markets worldwide. The Parts Supply segment leases and sells aircraft components and replacement parts. The Repair & Engineering segment provides airframe maintenance services, such as airframe inspection, painting, line maintenance, airframe modification, structural repair, avionics service and installation, exterior and interior refurbishment, and engineering and support services; component repair services comprising maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services, engine and airframe accessories, and interior refurbishment; and landing gear overhaul services, including repair services on wheels and brakes.