PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. reduced its holdings in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 43.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,510 shares during the period. AerCap makes up 1.0% of PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings in AerCap were worth $2,914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AER. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AerCap by 5.3% in 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of AerCap by 8.3% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in shares of AerCap by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,550,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,068,000 after purchasing an additional 167,830 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AerCap by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,737,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,574,000 after purchasing an additional 22,346 shares during the period. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of AerCap by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC now owns 1,589,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $150,595,000 after purchasing an additional 32,911 shares during the last quarter. 96.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AerCap Trading Down 1.5 %

AER stock opened at $99.63 on Friday. AerCap Holdings has a 12 month low of $80.90 and a 12 month high of $107.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $97.79 and its 200 day moving average is $96.26. The company has a market capitalization of $18.61 billion, a PE ratio of 7.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.81. 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 (NYSE:AER) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.75. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. AerCap had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 13.98%. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. 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 1.08%. This is a boost from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.99%.

AerCap declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AER. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 price target on shares of AerCap in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.43.

AerCap Company 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.