Blueshift Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 72.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,421 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AerCap were worth $276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darsana Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of AerCap during the 3rd quarter worth about $94,720,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP acquired a new position in AerCap in the third quarter valued at approximately $60,526,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in AerCap by 137.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 834,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,857,000 after purchasing an additional 483,564 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in AerCap by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,862,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $460,579,000 after purchasing an additional 370,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AerCap by 896.4% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 391,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,467,000 after buying an additional 352,215 shares during the last quarter. 96.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on AER shares. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group downgraded shares of AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AerCap currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.43.

AerCap Price Performance

Shares of AER opened at $102.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. AerCap Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $81.93 and a fifty-two week high of $107.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.67. The company has a market capitalization of $19.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.75. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. AerCap had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 32.38%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

AerCap declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is 9.99%.

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.