Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $7.04 Million Stock Holdings in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,756 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in AerCap were worth $7,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AER. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in AerCap by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in AerCap by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 19,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in AerCap by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC lifted its position in AerCap by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC now owns 10,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,022,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in shares of AerCap during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 96.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AerCap Stock Up 2.4 %

AER opened at $97.54 on Wednesday. AerCap Holdings has a twelve month low of $81.69 and a twelve month high of $107.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $97.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.34. The firm has a market cap of $18.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. AerCap had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 32.38%. Research analysts forecast that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. This is a positive change from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. AerCap’s payout ratio is 9.99%.

AerCap announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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