AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $113.83.

AER has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of AerCap in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, November 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AerCap

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AerCap during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of AerCap during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,079,000. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in shares of AerCap by 121.0% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 6,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 3,457 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of AerCap by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,608,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,595,000 after purchasing an additional 485,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of AerCap by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 128,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,279,000 after purchasing an additional 24,198 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

AerCap Stock Performance

Shares of AER opened at $102.24 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $97.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company has a market capitalization of $20.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.81. AerCap has a 52-week low of $76.00 and a 52-week high of $107.36.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. AerCap had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 32.38%. Research analysts predict that AerCap will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AerCap announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. This is a boost from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. AerCap’s payout ratio is currently 7.92%.

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.