Bank of Marin Cuts Position in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Bank of Marin trimmed its position in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 146 shares during the quarter. Bank of Marin’s holdings in AerCap were worth $578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AER. Darsana Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of AerCap in the 3rd quarter worth about $94,720,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of AerCap in the 3rd quarter worth about $60,526,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of AerCap by 137.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 834,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,857,000 after purchasing an additional 483,564 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of AerCap by 8.3% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AerCap by 896.4% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 391,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,467,000 after buying an additional 352,215 shares in the last quarter. 96.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AerCap Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AER opened at $103.00 on Wednesday. AerCap Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $81.93 and a fifty-two week high of $107.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $98.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm has a market cap of $19.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AerCap declared that its board has approved a share 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 buy up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders 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 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This is an increase from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AER has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group lowered AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 target price on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Susquehanna increased their target price on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AerCap has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.