AAR (NYSE:AIR) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $68.35, but opened at $63.58. AAR shares last traded at $59.00, with a volume of 330,752 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIR has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of AAR in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded AAR from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

AAR Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 213.92 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $66.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.49.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 27th. The aerospace company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $678.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $699.13 million. AAR had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 0.41%. The company’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that AAR Corp. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Jessup sold 33,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,357,062.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 63,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,449,913.60. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.81, for a total value of $354,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 341,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,194,360.80. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,793 shares of company stock worth $12,538,396 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AAR

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in shares of AAR in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in AAR during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of AAR during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AAR by 761.2% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 887 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of AAR by 124.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.74% of the company’s stock.

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.