Swiss National Bank Trims Stake in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 570,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in AerCap were worth $54,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new position in shares of AerCap in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AerCap during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of AerCap during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AerCap in the third quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in AerCap in the third quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AER. Susquehanna lifted their price target on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group downgraded AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays reiterated 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 target price on shares of AerCap in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AerCap presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.43.

AerCap Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE AER opened at $101.37 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $98.10 and its 200 day moving average is $96.43. AerCap Holdings has a 52 week low of $81.93 and a 52 week high of $107.36. 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 company has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. AerCap had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 13.98%. On average, equities research analysts expect that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

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

AerCap Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.99%.

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.