Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in CAE Inc (NYSE:CAE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in CAE Inc (NYSE:CAE) (TSE:CAE) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CAE were worth $723,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Natixis purchased a new stake in CAE in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in CAE in the 1st quarter valued at about $53,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in CAE in the 4th quarter valued at about $147,000. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in CAE during the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in CAE during the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.36% of the company’s stock.

CAE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAE opened at $29.11 on Friday. CAE Inc has a twelve month low of $15.95 and a twelve month high of $30.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.22.

CAE (NYSE:CAE) (TSE:CAE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The aerospace company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.01. CAE had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company had revenue of $886.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CAE Inc will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAE. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of CAE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. CIBC reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of CAE in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of CAE in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on CAE in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded CAE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CAE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

CAE Company Profile

CAE Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides simulation training and critical operations support solutions in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, the Oceania, Africa, and Rest of the Americas. It operates through two segments, Civil Aviation; and Defense and Security. The Civil Aviation segment offers training solutions for flight, cabin, maintenance, and ground personnel in commercial, business, and helicopter aviation; a range of flight simulation training devices; and ab initio pilot training and crew sourcing services, as well as aircraft flight operations solutions.