Short Interest in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) Decreases By 18.2%

AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,160,000 shares, a drop of 18.2% from the August 15th total of 2,640,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,510,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

AerCap Stock Up 1.0 %

AerCap stock opened at $94.87 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.06. AerCap has a fifty-two week low of $57.30 and a fifty-two week high of $98.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.17, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.60. AerCap had a net margin of 42.02% and a return on equity of 15.12%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. AerCap’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AerCap will post 11.33 EPS for the current year.

AerCap Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. AerCap’s payout ratio is 6.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AER. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of AerCap in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AerCap from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of AerCap from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AerCap in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $103.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AerCap currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AER. Norges Bank bought a new position in AerCap in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $145,951,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new position in AerCap in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $137,412,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new position in AerCap in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $133,330,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in AerCap by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,090,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $452,633,000 after buying an additional 1,476,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new position in AerCap in the first quarter valued at approximately $94,062,000. Institutional investors own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

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.