Aristides Capital LLC Purchases 3,630 Shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Aristides Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER - Free Report) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,630 shares during the period. AerCap comprises about 0.7% of Aristides Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Aristides Capital LLC's holdings in AerCap were worth $3,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AerCap in the fourth quarter worth about $218,517,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in AerCap by 137.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 834,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $79,857,000 after purchasing an additional 483,564 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in AerCap by 43.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,599,032 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $153,027,000 after buying an additional 483,428 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in AerCap by 8.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,862,517 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $460,579,000 after buying an additional 370,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AerCap by 896.4% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 391,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,467,000 after buying an additional 352,215 shares during the last quarter. 96.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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AerCap Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of AER traded up $0.95 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $91.32. 1,000,607 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,378,798. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.23, 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. AerCap Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $81.93 and a fifty-two week high of $107.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.52 and a 200-day moving average of $97.10.

AerCap (NYSE:AER - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.75. AerCap had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 32.38%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. On average, research analysts expect that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

AerCap announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. This is a positive change from AerCap's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. AerCap's payout ratio is currently 9.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AER has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group downgraded AerCap to an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of AerCap from $112.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.14.

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.