Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) by 18.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 500,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 77,974 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.41% of AAR worth $32,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AAR in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AAR by 283.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 544 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AAR during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its position in shares of AAR by 348.1% during the second quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,416 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AAR by 40.4% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.74% of the company’s stock.

AAR Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AIR opened at $67.33 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $63.86 and a 200-day moving average of $66.68. The firm has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.99 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. AAR Corp. has a twelve month low of $54.71 and a twelve month high of $76.34.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $661.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.60 million. AAR had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 10.22%. The firm’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that AAR Corp. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AIR shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of AAR from $86.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of AAR in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of AAR in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of AAR from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AAR presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.00.

AAR Profile

AAR Corp. provides products and services to commercial aviation, government, and defense markets worldwide. The Parts Supply segment leases and sells aircraft components and replacement parts. The Repair & Engineering segment provides airframe maintenance services, such as airframe inspection, painting, line maintenance, airframe modification, structural repair, avionics service and installation, exterior and interior refurbishment, and engineering and support services; component repair services comprising maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services, engine and airframe accessories, and interior refurbishment; and landing gear overhaul services, including repair services on wheels and brakes.