National Pension Service Lowers Holdings in Aercap Holdings N.V. $AER

National Pension Service decreased its holdings in Aercap Holdings N.V. (NYSE:AER) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 609,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,843 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.33% of Aercap worth $87,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AER. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Aercap in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Aercap in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Aercap by 26.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Aercap by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aercap during the third quarter worth approximately $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AER. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Aercap from $162.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Aercap from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Aercap from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Aercap from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Aercap from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.13.

Aercap Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AER opened at $139.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.11, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.95. Aercap Holdings N.V. has a one year low of $105.65 and a one year high of $154.94. The company’s fifty day moving average is $140.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.24.

Aercap (NYSE:AER) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $5.39 EPS for the quarter. Aercap had a net margin of 45.22% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter. Analysts forecast that Aercap Holdings N.V. will post 17.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aercap declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Aercap Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Aercap’s payout ratio is presently 7.01%.

Aercap Profile

AerCap Holdings N.V. (NYSE: AER) is a global aircraft leasing and aviation finance company that acquires, leases, sells and manages commercial aircraft and engines. Its core services include operating leases, finance leases, sale-and-leaseback transactions, aircraft trading and remarketing, and asset management for airline customers. The company also provides related commercial and technical support services designed to optimize fleet utilization and residual values over the life cycle of aircraft and engines.

Operating with a broad global footprint, AerCap serves airlines and other aviation customers across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.