AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) Short Interest Update

AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of 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 days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company's stock are short sold.

AAR Stock Performance

AAR stock traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.25. The company had a trading volume of 165,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,787. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $65.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.13. AAR has a 52 week low of $54.71 and a 52 week high of $76.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 250.91 and a beta of 1.61.

AAR (NYSE:AIR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.07. The firm 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that AAR will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of AAR in a report on Friday, October 4th. KeyCorp started coverage on AAR in a report on Thursday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of AAR in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised AAR from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Insider Transactions at AAR

In related news, CAO Jessica A. Garascia sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $100,350.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 37,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,513,098.50. This trade represents a 3.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher A. Jessup sold 33,481 shares of AAR stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 63,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,449,913.60. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 180,793 shares of company stock valued at $12,184,346 in the last quarter. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AAR

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AIR. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AAR during the second quarter worth about $77,754,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in AAR by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 732,957 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $47,906,000 after purchasing an additional 181,518 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in AAR by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 297,482 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $21,627,000 after buying an additional 135,445 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in shares of AAR by 20.5% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 790,267 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $51,652,000 after buying an additional 134,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AAR by 13.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 969,741 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $59,591,000 after buying an additional 114,460 shares in the last quarter. 90.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AAR Company Profile

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.