Norges Bank Invests $218.52 Million in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,283,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $218,517,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AerCap by 59.3% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 17,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,686,000 after acquiring an additional 6,654 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of AerCap by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 446,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,711,000 after purchasing an additional 4,222 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in AerCap by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,601,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $545,726,000 after purchasing an additional 282,980 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in AerCap by 95.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 91,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,687,000 after buying an additional 44,797 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in AerCap in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,478,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

AerCap Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AER opened at $102.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.60 and a 200-day moving average of $97.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83. AerCap Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $81.93 and a fifty-two week high of $107.36.

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. AerCap had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 32.38%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. This is an increase from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. AerCap’s payout ratio is presently 9.99%.

AerCap declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.