Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 981,160 Shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership trimmed its holdings in shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,852,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 981,160 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 1.44% of AerCap worth $273,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new position in shares of AerCap during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in AerCap in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of AerCap in the 3rd quarter worth $66,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of AerCap in the 3rd quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AerCap by 1,148.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. 96.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AER has been the subject of several research reports. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group lowered AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.43.

AerCap Price Performance

Shares of AerCap stock opened at $102.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. AerCap Holdings has a one year low of $81.93 and a one year high of $107.36. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.75. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. AerCap had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 13.98%. Analysts forecast that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.99%.

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

AerCap Profile

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.