KBC Group NV Buys 563 Shares of AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR)

KBC Group NV increased its stake in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) by 42.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,887 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in AAR were worth $116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in shares of AAR in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its holdings in AAR by 133.3% in the fourth quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 1,400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its position in AAR by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 2,711 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in AAR during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new position in shares of AAR in the 3rd quarter worth about $228,000. 90.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Jessup sold 33,481 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total value of $2,357,062.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 63,209 shares in the company, valued at $4,449,913.60. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.81, for a total transaction of $354,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 341,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,194,360.80. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,793 shares of company stock worth $12,538,396 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

AAR Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE AIR opened at $67.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. AAR Corp. has a 52 week low of $54.71 and a 52 week high of $76.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.91. The company has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 240.26 and a beta of 1.61.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.07. AAR had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The business had revenue of $686.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $654.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. AAR’s quarterly revenue was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that AAR Corp. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of AAR in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut AAR from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on shares of AAR in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AAR has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

About AAR

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.