Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Trims Stake in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership cut its stake in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,852,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 981,160 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in AerCap were worth $273,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new position in shares of AerCap in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in AerCap in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in AerCap during the third quarter valued at $66,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of AerCap during the 3rd quarter valued at $78,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AerCap by 1,148.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 1,160 shares during the period. 96.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AerCap Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AER opened at $102.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83. AerCap Holdings has a twelve month low of $81.93 and a twelve month high of $107.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $99.60 and a 200 day moving average of $97.11.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last posted 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 return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 32.38%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AerCap announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AER has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. UBS Group cut AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays reaffirmed 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 lifted their price objective on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.