Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER - Free Report) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 456,897 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,915 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.23% of AerCap worth $43,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of AerCap by 137.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 834,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $79,857,000 after buying an additional 483,564 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in AerCap by 896.4% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 391,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,467,000 after acquiring an additional 352,215 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in AerCap by 5.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,601,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $545,726,000 after acquiring an additional 282,980 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in AerCap by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 455,471 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,589,000 after purchasing an additional 175,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its holdings in AerCap by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,550,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $244,068,000 after purchasing an additional 167,830 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.42% of the company's stock.

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AerCap Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE AER traded down $1.67 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.05. 2,181,684 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,606,478. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.53, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.10. AerCap Holdings has a twelve month low of $82.21 and a twelve month high of $107.36.

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

AerCap announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. This is a boost from AerCap's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. AerCap's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AER. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group downgraded shares of AerCap to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on AerCap from $112.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AerCap currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.14.

AerCap Company Profile

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.