AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,640,000 shares, a drop of 25.1% from the February 13th total of 2,190,000 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AER has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their target price on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $119.00 price objective on shares of AerCap in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price 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. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group cut AerCap to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.43.

AerCap Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE AER traded up $0.28 on Thursday, reaching $104.63. 937,316 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,271,246. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $98.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.59. AerCap has a 12 month low of $81.93 and a 12 month high of $107.36. The company has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Remove Ads

AerCap (NYSE:AER - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AerCap will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. This is an increase from AerCap's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. AerCap's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.99%.

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

Institutional Trading of AerCap

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AER. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in AerCap in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new position in shares of AerCap in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AerCap in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of AerCap in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in AerCap during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 96.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.