CenterBook Partners LP Purchases 14,607 Shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

CenterBook Partners LP grew its stake in shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 68.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,607 shares during the quarter. CenterBook Partners LP’s holdings in AerCap were worth $3,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in AerCap by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,601,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $545,726,000 after buying an additional 282,980 shares in the last quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in AerCap by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,934,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,802,000 after purchasing an additional 86,548 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its stake in AerCap by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,550,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,068,000 after purchasing an additional 167,830 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in AerCap during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $218,517,000. 96.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AerCap Stock Performance

NYSE AER opened at $95.44 on Thursday. AerCap Holdings has a 1-year low of $81.93 and a 1-year high of $107.36. 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 $17.83 billion, a PE ratio of 7.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.14.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AerCap announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This is a positive change from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AER has been the topic of a number of research reports. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group cut AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.