Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Takes $9.94 Million Position in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 103,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,943,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned approximately 0.05% of AerCap at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new position in AerCap in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AerCap in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of AerCap by 51.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in AerCap by 110.7% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AerCap by 104.3% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 995 shares during the period. 96.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AER has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of AerCap from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna lifted their price target on AerCap from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group downgraded AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AerCap from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.25.

AerCap Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:AER opened at $113.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $102.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. AerCap Holdings has a 52 week low of $82.21 and a 52 week high of $114.42.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.99. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. AerCap had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 13.98%. AerCap’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.29 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AerCap declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

AerCap Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. AerCap’s payout ratio is 9.58%.

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.