AAR Corp. $AIR Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in shares of AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) by 17.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,675 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 10,964 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in AAR were worth $4,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AIR. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in AAR in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,042,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC acquired a new position in shares of AAR in the third quarter worth about $2,755,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of AAR by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 120,577 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,294,000 after purchasing an additional 12,976 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust raised its holdings in AAR by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 211,132 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $18,932,000 after purchasing an additional 16,892 shares during the period. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its position in AAR by 8.3% during the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 364,875 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,718,000 after purchasing an additional 27,870 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.74% of the company’s stock.

AAR Stock Performance

NYSE:AIR opened at $113.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.42 and a beta of 1.23. AAR Corp. has a twelve month low of $46.51 and a twelve month high of $113.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $93.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 6th. The aerospace company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. AAR had a net margin of 3.17% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The company had revenue of $795.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $760.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. AAR’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AAR Corp. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Sarah Louise Flanagan sold 10,750 shares of AAR stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.56, for a total transaction of $1,167,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 32,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,565,978.88. This trade represents a 24.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Jessica A. Garascia sold 4,787 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.25, for a total value of $455,961.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 29,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,815,304.25. This trade represents a 13.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 128,984 shares of company stock worth $12,517,090 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $112.00 price objective on AAR and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of AAR in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AAR from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of AAR from $93.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of AAR in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.80.

About AAR

AAR Corp. (NYSE: AIR) is a global provider of aviation products and services to commercial, government and defense customers. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) solutions, component repair and overhaul, and engineering services designed to support a wide variety of fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. Leveraging FAA and EASA certifications, AAR delivers turnkey maintenance programs and ad hoc repair services that enhance aircraft availability and reliability.

In its Aviation Supply Chain Services segment, AAR sources, stores and distributes parts for both commercial airlines and military operators.