Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Lowers Position in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. reduced its stake in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 23.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,026 shares during the period. Banco BTG Pactual S.A.’s holdings in AerCap were worth $621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Darsana Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of AerCap in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $94,720,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in AerCap in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $60,526,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 483,564 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in AerCap by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,862,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $460,579,000 after purchasing an additional 370,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AerCap by 896.4% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 391,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,467,000 after buying an additional 352,215 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

AerCap Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE AER opened at $102.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $99.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.90. 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.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.75. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. AerCap had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 32.38%. As a group, research analysts expect that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

AerCap Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AER has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays reissued 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 target on shares of AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. 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 report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AerCap has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.43.

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.