Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 34,312 AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 34,312 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,284,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new position in AerCap during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AerCap in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of AerCap in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in AerCap in the 3rd quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in AerCap during the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. 96.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AER has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group lowered shares of AerCap to an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.43.

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AerCap Stock Performance

AER traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $102.14. 2,175,398 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,337,910. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83. AerCap Holdings has a 52-week low of $81.93 and a 52-week high of $107.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company's fifty day moving average price is $99.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.21.

AerCap (NYSE:AER - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from AerCap's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. AerCap's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.99%.

AerCap declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 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.