AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) Short Interest Up 37.8% in March

AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,260,000 shares, an increase of 37.8% from the February 28th total of 1,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna increased their target price 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. UBS Group downgraded shares of AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays reiterated 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 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.43.

AerCap Price Performance

NYSE AER opened at $102.12 on Monday. AerCap has a 1 year low of $81.93 and a 1 year high of $107.36. The business’s fifty day moving average is $99.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09, 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.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that AerCap will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

AerCap Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AerCap

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in AerCap by 5.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 282,980 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 370,906 shares in the last quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP increased its stake in AerCap by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 3,704,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,560,000 after buying an additional 538,703 shares during the period. Lyrical Asset Management LP lifted its position in AerCap by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 3,097,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,463,000 after buying an additional 38,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its stake in shares of AerCap by 3.0% during the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

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.