AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) Stock Position Reduced by Donald Smith & CO. Inc.

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. trimmed its position in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,451,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 73,888 shares during the quarter. AerCap comprises 7.9% of Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned 1.74% of AerCap worth $330,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in AerCap in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AerCap in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in AerCap during the 3rd quarter worth about $66,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new position in AerCap during the 3rd quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

AerCap Price Performance

AerCap stock opened at $103.95 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $19.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. AerCap Holdings has a one year low of $81.93 and a one year high of $107.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $100.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.32. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.75. AerCap had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 32.38%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. As a group, analysts predict that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

AerCap Increases Dividend

The company 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 is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. This is a positive change from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group downgraded shares of AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.43.

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.