AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) is Cooke & Bieler LP’s 4th Largest Position

Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,934,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 86,548 shares during the period. AerCap accounts for approximately 2.7% of Cooke & Bieler LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in AerCap were worth $280,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in AerCap by 5.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in AerCap by 8.3% in the 3rd 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 increased its holdings in AerCap by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,550,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,068,000 after purchasing an additional 167,830 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in AerCap by 1.3% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC boosted its position in 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 during the period. 96.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AerCap Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of AER stock opened at $95.25 on Tuesday. AerCap Holdings has a 52-week low of $80.90 and a 52-week high of $107.36. The stock has a market cap of $17.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $97.88 and a 200-day moving average of $96.33.

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

AerCap declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase 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 firm also recently declared 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 a boost from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed 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 report on Friday. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.