Sheets Smith Wealth Management Boosts Stake in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its stake in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,015 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in AAR were worth $430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AAR in the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Shelton Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AAR in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,068,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in AAR by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,625 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 3,737 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of AAR by 9.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 40,737 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,663,000 after acquiring an additional 3,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AAR by 18.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 500,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,693,000 after acquiring an additional 77,974 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.74% of the company’s stock.

AAR Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AIR opened at $71.19 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $65.97 and its 200 day moving average is $65.17. The company has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 254.27 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.27. AAR Corp. has a 1 year low of $54.71 and a 1 year high of $76.34.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.07. AAR had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 0.41%. The firm had revenue of $686.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $654.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AAR Corp. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AIR. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of AAR in a report on Monday, November 4th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of AAR in a research note on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com raised AAR from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on AAR in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AAR news, CFO Sean M. Gillen sold 17,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.33, for a total transaction of $1,153,147.05. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,797,383.58. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jessica A. Garascia sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $100,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 37,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,513,098.50. The trade was a 3.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 185,793 shares of company stock worth $12,538,396. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.