HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Position in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 182 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in AerCap were worth $1,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AER. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new position in shares of AerCap during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in AerCap during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of AerCap in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AerCap in the third quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of AerCap during the third quarter valued at $66,000. 96.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AerCap Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AER opened at $103.21 on Thursday. 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 12-month low of $81.93 and a 12-month high of $107.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $99.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.94. The company has a market capitalization of $19.28 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

AerCap declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. 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 1.05%. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna raised their target price on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group downgraded shares of AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AerCap presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.43.

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.