Korea Investment CORP Buys 46,844 Shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 48.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 143,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 46,844 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in AerCap were worth $13,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AerCap by 85.7% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 66,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,404,000 after acquiring an additional 30,884 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in AerCap by 398.0% in the 4th quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 13,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after purchasing an additional 11,183 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in AerCap in the 4th quarter valued at $14,881,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in AerCap by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 121,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,622,000 after buying an additional 6,746 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AerCap by 87.5% during the fourth quarter. Bruce & Co. Inc. now owns 150,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,355,000 after buying an additional 70,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

AerCap Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of AER opened at $102.12 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. AerCap Holdings has a one year low of $81.93 and a one year high of $107.36. The company has a market cap of $19.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83.

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

AerCap Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This is a positive change from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. AerCap’s payout ratio is 9.99%.

AerCap announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

AerCap Company 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.