AAR (NYSE:AIR) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

AAR (NYSE:AIR) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on AIR. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of AAR in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on AAR from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $112.00 target price on AAR and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group began 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. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of AAR from $93.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AAR has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.80.

AAR Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of AIR stock opened at $116.93 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.65. AAR has a 52 week low of $46.51 and a 52 week high of $118.00. The stock has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.85 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 6th. The aerospace company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $795.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $760.95 million. AAR had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 3.17%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Analysts predict that AAR will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Jessup sold 23,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.05, for a total transaction of $2,292,418.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 65,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,382,881.45. This trade represents a 26.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 30,000 shares of AAR stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.50, for a total value of $2,925,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 237,064 shares in the company, valued at $23,113,740. This trade represents a 11.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 128,984 shares of company stock valued at $12,517,090. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AAR

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AIR. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of AAR by 144.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,486,775 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $133,319,000 after acquiring an additional 878,188 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in shares of AAR by 297.4% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 594,668 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $49,233,000 after acquiring an additional 445,026 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its stake in AAR by 709.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 488,239 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $43,780,000 after acquiring an additional 427,906 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of AAR by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,320,927 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $192,150,000 after purchasing an additional 339,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in AAR by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,154,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $107,752,000 after buying an additional 311,258 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.74% of the company’s stock.

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.