Short Interest in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) Drops By 25.1%

AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,640,000 shares, a decline of 25.1% from the February 13th total of 2,190,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

AerCap Price Performance

Shares of AerCap stock opened at $102.49 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $98.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.49. AerCap has a 52 week low of $81.93 and a 52 week high of $107.36. The stock has a market cap of $19.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.75. AerCap had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AerCap will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

AerCap Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $0.27 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. AerCap’s payout ratio is 9.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AerCap

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AerCap during the 4th quarter worth about $218,517,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in AerCap during the 3rd quarter worth about $94,720,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in AerCap by 139.1% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,505,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $144,105,000 after buying an additional 875,950 shares during the period. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP raised its holdings in AerCap by 118.8% during the 4th quarter. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP now owns 1,398,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,789,000 after buying an additional 759,000 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in AerCap by 190.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,074,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,871,000 after buying an additional 705,212 shares during the period. 96.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AER. UBS Group downgraded shares of AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 price objective on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AerCap presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.43.

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.