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

AAR (NYSE:AIR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of AAR in a report on Friday, October 4th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on AAR in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of AAR in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AAR has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.50.

AAR Stock Performance

AIR stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $68.74. The stock had a trading volume of 119,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 303,697. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.06. AAR has a 52-week low of $54.71 and a 52-week high of $76.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of 245.52 and a beta of 1.61.

AAR (NYSE:AIR - Get Free Report) last released its 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. AAR had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 0.41%. The firm had revenue of $686.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $654.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AAR will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AAR

In related news, CAO Jessica A. Garascia sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $100,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 37,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,513,098.50. This trade represents a 3.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sean M. Gillen sold 17,385 shares of the business'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,797,383.58. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 185,793 shares of company stock worth $12,538,396 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AAR

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in AAR in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp boosted its stake in AAR by 133.3% during the fourth quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 1,400 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in AAR by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,324 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AAR by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 2,711 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AAR during the 4th quarter worth $203,000. 90.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.