AAR (NYSE:AIR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of AAR (NYSE:AIR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on AIR. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of AAR in a report on Monday, November 4th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of AAR in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on AAR in a report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

AAR Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of AAR stock opened at $70.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 250.91 and a beta of 1.61. AAR has a 52-week low of $54.71 and a 52-week high of $76.34. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.13.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.07. AAR had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 0.41%. The business had revenue of $686.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $654.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AAR will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Jessup sold 33,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total value of $2,357,062.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 63,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,449,913.60. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jessica A. Garascia sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $100,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 37,565 shares in the company, valued at $2,513,098.50. The trade was a 3.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 180,793 shares of company stock valued at $12,184,346. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AAR

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIR. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in AAR in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of AAR during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AAR by 43.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in AAR by 32.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,324 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in AAR during the fourth quarter worth approximately $203,000. 90.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AAR Company Profile

AAR Corp. provides products and services to commercial aviation, government, and defense markets worldwide. The Parts Supply segment leases and sells aircraft components and replacement parts. The Repair & Engineering segment provides airframe maintenance services, such as airframe inspection, painting, line maintenance, airframe modification, structural repair, avionics service and installation, exterior and interior refurbishment, and engineering and support services; component repair services comprising maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services, engine and airframe accessories, and interior refurbishment; and landing gear overhaul services, including repair services on wheels and brakes.