AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) Short Interest Down 15.8% in February

AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,190,000 shares, a decrease of 15.8% from the January 31st total of 2,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on AER shares. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America increased their target price on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $119.00 target price on shares of AerCap in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AerCap currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.43.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AER. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of AerCap during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new position in shares of AerCap during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AerCap during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of AerCap during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of AerCap during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 96.42% of the company's stock.

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AerCap Price Performance

Shares of AerCap stock traded down $1.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $99.63. The stock had a trading volume of 2,475,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,374,195. The firm has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83. AerCap has a 12 month low of $80.90 and a 12 month high of $107.36. The business's 50-day moving average is $97.88 and its 200 day moving average is $96.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

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

AerCap Increases Dividend

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

AerCap declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.