AAR (NYSE:AIR) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of AAR (NYSE:AIR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AIR. KeyCorp assumed coverage on AAR in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of AAR in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of AAR in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AAR currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

AAR Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AIR opened at $68.97 on Tuesday. AAR has a 52-week low of $54.71 and a 52-week high of $76.34. The stock has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 246.32 and a beta of 1.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $66.25 and its 200 day moving average is $65.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that AAR will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AAR

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Jessup sold 33,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 63,209 shares in the company, valued at $4,449,913.60. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 128,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.76, for a total value of $8,573,786.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 346,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,144,356.80. This trade represents a 27.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,793 shares of company stock valued at $12,538,396 in the last quarter. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AAR

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AIR. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AAR by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 500,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,693,000 after purchasing an additional 77,974 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of AAR by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 40,737 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 3,612 shares in the last quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AAR in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,068,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in AAR by 269.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 66,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,328,000 after buying an additional 48,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in AAR in the 4th quarter worth about $1,539,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.74% of the company’s stock.

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.