AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) Short Interest Up 28.3% in December

AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 792,200 shares, a growth of 28.3% from the December 15th total of 617,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 264,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 128,427 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.76, for a total value of $8,573,786.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 346,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,144,356.80. This trade represents a 27.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sean M. Gillen sold 17,385 shares of AAR 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,797,383.58. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 180,793 shares of company stock worth $12,184,346. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AAR

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in AAR by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,588,893 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $115,513,000 after acquiring an additional 48,630 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AAR during the second quarter worth about $77,754,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of AAR by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 969,741 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $59,591,000 after purchasing an additional 114,460 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AAR by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 796,962 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $52,101,000 after buying an additional 27,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in AAR by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 790,267 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $51,652,000 after buying an additional 134,215 shares during the last quarter. 90.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AAR Stock Performance

AIR stock traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $70.25. 165,600 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 262,787. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.45. AAR has a 1 year low of $54.71 and a 1 year high of $76.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.22. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 250.91 and a beta of 1.61.

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. The firm had revenue of $686.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $654.47 million. AAR had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The business’s revenue was up 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that AAR will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About AAR

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.