AerCap (NYSE:AER) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $116.04 and last traded at $114.86, with a volume of 105899 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $115.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AER has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on AerCap from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America raised their price target on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group cut AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AerCap from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.25.

AerCap Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $104.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $21.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.41.

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

AerCap Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.58%.

AerCap declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AerCap

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AER. Barclays PLC increased its position in AerCap by 95.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 91,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,687,000 after acquiring an additional 44,797 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. abrdn plc increased its position in AerCap by 124.0% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 162,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,647,000 after acquiring an additional 89,831 shares during the period. Caas Capital Management LP increased its position in AerCap by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Caas Capital Management LP now owns 41,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,943,000 after acquiring an additional 11,900 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in AerCap by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,550,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,068,000 after acquiring an additional 167,830 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

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.