Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR - Free Report) by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 500,200 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 77,974 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.41% of AAR worth $32,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in AAR in the 2nd quarter valued at about $77,754,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of AAR by 1,956.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 909,953 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $66,154,000 after buying an additional 865,705 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of AAR during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,794,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of AAR by 32.9% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 732,957 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $47,906,000 after purchasing an additional 181,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of AAR by 83.6% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 297,482 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $21,627,000 after purchasing an additional 135,445 shares in the last quarter. 90.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AAR Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of AAR stock traded up $0.35 on Tuesday, hitting $67.68. The stock had a trading volume of 119,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 305,951. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.86 and a 200 day moving average of $66.68. AAR Corp. has a twelve month low of $54.71 and a twelve month high of $76.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 3.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.99 and a beta of 1.57.

AAR (NYSE:AIR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $661.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $645.60 million. AAR had a return on equity of 10.22% and a net margin of 2.67%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AAR Corp. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AIR. StockNews.com raised AAR from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on AAR from $86.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of AAR in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of AAR in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AAR currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.00.

About AAR

AAR Corp. provides products and services to commercial aviation, government, and defense markets worldwide. The Parts Supply segment leases and sells aircraft components and replacement parts. The Repair & Engineering segment provides airframe maintenance services, such as airframe inspection, painting, line maintenance, airframe modification, structural repair, avionics service and installation, exterior and interior refurbishment, and engineering and support services; component repair services comprising maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services, engine and airframe accessories, and interior refurbishment; and landing gear overhaul services, including repair services on wheels and brakes.