AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 955,500 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the March 15th total of 904,100 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 346,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at AAR

In other news, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 29,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total value of $1,761,142.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 303,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,281,020.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AAR news, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 29,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total transaction of $1,761,142.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 303,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,281,020.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jessica A. Garascia sold 7,352 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.37, for a total transaction of $465,896.24. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 28,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,784,816.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 64,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,858,323 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AAR

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in AAR by 10.7% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,239,962 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $302,202,000 after buying an additional 601,462 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in AAR by 32.1% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,209,912 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $107,026,000 after buying an additional 537,011 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its position in AAR by 4,275.8% during the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 401,440 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $23,898,000 after buying an additional 392,266 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AAR during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,511,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in AAR by 503.7% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 411,652 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,343,000 after buying an additional 343,465 shares in the last quarter. 90.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AAR Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE AIR traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $61.12. 171,075 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 397,535. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.96 and a beta of 1.67. AAR has a 52-week low of $50.06 and a 52-week high of $73.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.05.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The aerospace company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.01. AAR had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 10.17%. Equities research analysts expect that AAR will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AIR shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of AAR in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of AAR from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. William Blair started coverage on shares of AAR in a report on Monday, January 29th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of AAR from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of AAR from $65.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.25.

About AAR

AAR Corp. provides products and services to commercial aviation, government, and defense markets worldwide. It operates through Aviation Services and Expeditionary Services segments. The Aviation Services segment engages in lease and sale of new, overhauled and repaired engine, and airframe parts and components, as well as aircrafts; and offers customized flight hour component inventory and repair, warranty claim management, and outsourcing programs for engine and airframe parts and components.