AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) Shares Purchased by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS raised its stake in shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,128 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in AerCap were worth $4,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AerCap in the fourth quarter worth about $218,517,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new position in AerCap during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,526,000. KBC Group NV grew its position 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 worth $79,857,000 after acquiring an additional 483,564 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of AerCap by 43.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,599,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,027,000 after acquiring an additional 483,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of AerCap by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,862,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $460,579,000 after acquiring an additional 370,906 shares in the last quarter. 96.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AER. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of 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 note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.43.

AerCap Price Performance

NYSE AER opened at $102.12 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $99.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.14. The stock has a market cap of $19.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. AerCap Holdings has a 52 week low of $81.93 and a 52 week high of $107.36.

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

AerCap declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 a boost from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. AerCap’s payout ratio is currently 9.99%.

About AerCap

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.