AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 792,200 shares, an increase of 28.3% from the December 15th total of 617,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 264,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at AAR

In other AAR news, CFO Sean M. Gillen sold 17,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.33, for a total value of $1,153,147.05. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,326 shares in the company, valued at $4,797,383.58. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Christopher A. Jessup sold 33,481 shares of AAR stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total value of $2,357,062.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 63,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,449,913.60. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 180,793 shares of company stock valued at $12,184,346. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AAR

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in AAR in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AAR in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AAR by 43.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of AAR by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,324 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of AAR during the 2nd quarter worth $218,000. 90.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AAR Price Performance

NYSE:AIR traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.25. 165,600 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 262,787. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.77 and a 200 day moving average of $65.22. AAR has a 1-year low of $54.71 and a 1-year high of $76.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 250.91 and a beta of 1.61.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $686.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $654.47 million. AAR had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 0.41%. AAR’s revenue was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that AAR will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on AIR shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of AAR in a report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com upgraded AAR from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp started coverage on AAR in a report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of AAR in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

About AAR

AAR Corp. provides products and services to commercial aviation, government, and defense markets worldwide. The Parts Supply segment leases and sells aircraft components and replacement parts. The Repair & Engineering segment provides airframe maintenance services, such as airframe inspection, painting, line maintenance, airframe modification, structural repair, avionics service and installation, exterior and interior refurbishment, and engineering and support services; component repair services comprising maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services, engine and airframe accessories, and interior refurbishment; and landing gear overhaul services, including repair services on wheels and brakes.