Lyrical Asset Management LP Increases Stake in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Lyrical Asset Management LP grew its holdings in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,097,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 38,264 shares during the quarter. AerCap makes up 4.4% of Lyrical Asset Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Lyrical Asset Management LP’s holdings in AerCap were worth $296,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AER. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in AerCap in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AerCap during the third quarter valued at approximately $413,000. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of AerCap in the third quarter valued at approximately $572,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new position in AerCap in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $236,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in AerCap by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 254,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,073,000 after buying an additional 30,816 shares in the last quarter. 96.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AER has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna boosted their target price on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. 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. UBS Group lowered shares of AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.43.

AerCap Stock Performance

Shares of AER stock opened at $89.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.72 billion, a PE ratio of 7.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $100.01 and a 200-day moving average of $97.31. 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.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 13.98%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

AerCap announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This is an increase from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.