AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) Shares Bought by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC raised its stake in shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 137.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 222,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 128,405 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in AerCap were worth $21,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of AerCap by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 19,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in AerCap by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its stake in shares of AerCap by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AerCap by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Williamson Legacy Group LLC lifted its position in AerCap by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC now owns 10,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

AerCap Stock Up 0.1 %

AerCap stock opened at $89.52 on Tuesday. AerCap Holdings has a 12 month low of $81.93 and a 12 month high of $107.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.72 billion, a PE ratio of 7.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.27.

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. AerCap had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

AerCap Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. AerCap’s payout ratio is 9.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AER. UBS Group downgraded AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna raised their target price on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America boosted their price target on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.43.

About AerCap

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.