AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,310,000 shares, a growth of 9.0% from the November 30th total of 2,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AerCap

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AerCap during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of AerCap by 35.5% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 664 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AerCap during the third quarter worth $64,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of AerCap in the third quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in AerCap by 15.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 814 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 96.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $119.00 target price on shares of AerCap in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on AerCap from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.00.

AerCap Price Performance

Shares of AER traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.70. 594,453 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,382,891. AerCap has a 52-week low of $70.48 and a 52-week high of $100.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.76. The company has a market cap of $18.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.58, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.82.

AerCap (NYSE:AER - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.41. AerCap had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 32.38%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.81 earnings per share. AerCap's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AerCap will post 11.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AerCap Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. AerCap's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.92%.

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.