Signaturefd LLC Increases Position in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in AerCap were worth $547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 282,980 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 370,906 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in shares of AerCap by 3.0% during 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 buying an additional 86,548 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of AerCap by 7.0% during 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 buying an additional 167,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

AerCap Stock Up 0.3 %

AER opened at $104.63 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $81.93 and a 1-year high of $107.36. The company has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a PE ratio of 8.29, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.64.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This is a boost from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio is 9.99%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AER shares. Barclays restated 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. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 price objective on shares of AerCap in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group downgraded shares of AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.