Nebula Research & Development LLC Decreases Holdings in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Nebula Research & Development LLC reduced its position in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 26.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,780 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC’s holdings in AerCap were worth $1,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AerCap in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $218,517,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of AerCap by 137.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 834,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,857,000 after acquiring an additional 483,564 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of AerCap by 43.3% during the fourth 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. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in AerCap by 896.4% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 391,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,467,000 after purchasing an additional 352,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in AerCap by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,601,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $545,726,000 after purchasing an additional 282,980 shares during the last quarter. 96.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AER. UBS Group downgraded shares of AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on AerCap from $112.00 to $101.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna upped their target price on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AerCap presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.14.

AerCap Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AER opened at $103.30 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.29 billion, a PE ratio of 8.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.46. 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 12 month low of $82.21 and a 12 month high of $107.36.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. This is a boost from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio is 9.99%.

AerCap declared that its board has approved a stock 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 repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.