AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) Shares Bought by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 40,737 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 3,612 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in AAR were worth $2,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AAR by 18.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 500,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,693,000 after acquiring an additional 77,974 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of AAR by 269.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 66,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,328,000 after purchasing an additional 48,298 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AAR by 3.2% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,588,893 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $115,513,000 after purchasing an additional 48,630 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in AAR by 4.1% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 22,859 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after buying an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in AAR by 24.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 109,543 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,160,000 after buying an additional 21,342 shares during the period. 90.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AAR Stock Performance

NYSE AIR opened at $70.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 250.91 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $65.83 and a 200-day moving average of $65.11. AAR Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $54.71 and a fifty-two week high of $76.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $686.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $654.47 million. AAR had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AAR Corp. will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIR has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of AAR in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of AAR in a report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of AAR in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised AAR from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Insider Activity at AAR

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

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.