Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $3.63 Million Stock Holdings in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,321 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in AerCap were worth $3,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AER. Darsana Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of AerCap in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $94,720,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of AerCap in the third quarter worth $60,526,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of AerCap by 137.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 834,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,857,000 after purchasing an additional 483,564 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in AerCap by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,862,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $460,579,000 after purchasing an additional 370,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC increased its stake in AerCap by 896.4% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 391,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,467,000 after buying an additional 352,215 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

AerCap Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of AER stock opened at $103.45 on Tuesday. AerCap Holdings has a 12 month low of $81.93 and a 12 month high of $107.36. The company has a market cap of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 8.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The business’s 50 day moving average is $99.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.81.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.75. AerCap had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Equities analysts predict that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

AerCap declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group downgraded AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AerCap has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.43.

AerCap 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.