JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stake in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 43.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,599,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 483,428 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in AerCap were worth $153,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new position in shares of AerCap in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in AerCap in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in AerCap during the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in AerCap during the third quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AerCap by 1,148.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AER has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lowered AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.43.

AerCap Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AER opened at $102.38 on Wednesday. AerCap Holdings has a 1 year low of $81.93 and a 1 year high of $107.36. The firm has a market cap of $19.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.11, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $99.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

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. Research analysts forecast that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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. This is a positive change from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. AerCap’s payout ratio is 9.99%.

AerCap announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.