AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) Short Interest Update

AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) saw a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,640,000 shares, a decline of 25.1% from the February 13th total of 2,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lowered AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America upped their price target on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna upped their price target on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 price target on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.43.

AerCap Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE AER traded up $1.16 on Monday, reaching $102.49. The company had a trading volume of 787,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,272,848. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $98.10 and its 200-day moving average is $96.45. The stock has a market cap of $19.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.12, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. AerCap has a 52 week low of $81.93 and a 52 week high of $107.36.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Equities analysts predict that AerCap will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

AerCap announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is an increase from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio is 9.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AerCap

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AerCap by 59.3% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 17,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,686,000 after buying an additional 6,654 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AerCap by 66.8% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 279,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,503,000 after buying an additional 112,084 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in AerCap by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 446,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,711,000 after purchasing an additional 4,222 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in AerCap by 5.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,601,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $545,726,000 after purchasing an additional 282,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its position in AerCap by 145.5% during the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 21,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,011,000 after purchasing an additional 12,584 shares during the last quarter. 96.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.