PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. Cuts Holdings in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 43.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,510 shares during the period. AerCap accounts for 1.0% of PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings in AerCap were worth $2,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AER. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position 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 worth $545,726,000 after acquiring an additional 282,980 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in AerCap by 8.3% in 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. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in 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 worth $244,068,000 after purchasing an additional 167,830 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of AerCap by 1.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,737,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,574,000 after buying an additional 22,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AerCap by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC now owns 1,589,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $150,595,000 after buying an additional 32,911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

AerCap Price Performance

NYSE AER opened at $99.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $97.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.26. AerCap Holdings has a 1 year low of $80.90 and a 1 year high of $107.36.

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

AerCap announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 price target on shares of AerCap in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.43.

AerCap Company 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.