AerCap (NYSE:AER) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $112.00 and last traded at $111.20, with a volume of 547991 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $109.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AER has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America lifted 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. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group downgraded shares of AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AerCap from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.00.

AerCap Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $100.21 and its 200 day moving average is $98.08. 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 company has a market cap of $20.80 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.41.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.99. AerCap had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.29 earnings per share. AerCap’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AerCap Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. AerCap’s payout ratio is currently 9.58%.

AerCap announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of AerCap

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in AerCap during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in AerCap during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in AerCap by 230.1% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in AerCap during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position in AerCap by 1,148.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 1,160 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

AerCap Company 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.