AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) Short Interest Up 23.4% in April

AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,950,000 shares, an increase of 23.4% from the March 31st total of 2,390,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,770,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

AerCap Price Performance

NYSE:AER opened at $106.74 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $99.54 and its 200 day moving average is $97.67. AerCap has a 12 month low of $82.21 and a 12 month high of $108.49. The company has a market capitalization of $19.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

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 return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 32.38%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AerCap will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AerCap declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

AerCap Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AER. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of AerCap from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AerCap from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AerCap presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in AerCap by 5.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,601,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $545,726,000 after purchasing an additional 282,980 shares during the period. 59 North Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of AerCap by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 3,704,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,560,000 after purchasing an additional 538,703 shares during the last quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP raised its holdings in AerCap by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 3,097,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,463,000 after buying an additional 38,264 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in AerCap by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,934,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,802,000 after buying an additional 86,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in AerCap by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,608,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,595,000 after buying an additional 485,999 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.