AAR (NYSE:AIR) Sets New 12-Month High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $122.55 and last traded at $121.9020, with a volume of 434864 shares. The stock had previously closed at $107.81.

The aerospace company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.04. AAR had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 13.09%. The company had revenue of $845.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis.

AAR News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AAR this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results beat expectations — AAR reported $1.25 EPS vs. $1.21 consensus and revenue of $845.1M vs. $812.6M, with revenue up ~24.6% YoY; management cited strong parts distribution demand driving results. AAR Q3 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Sales Increase Year Over Year
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades — Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target to $125 and kept an “Outperform” rating; KeyCorp raised its target to $120 with an “Overweight” rating — these lifts support further upside sentiment. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Contract win — AAR was awarded $450M in pallet contracts from the U.S. Air Force, adding a multi-year, defense-related revenue stream that boosts backlog visibility. AAR awarded $450 million in pallet contracts for U.S. Air Force
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials and call — The company posted the full press release, slide deck and hosted an earnings call; transcripts and presentations are available for detail on segment trends and margin commentary. View Press Release / Slide Deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Call/transcript coverage — Multiple transcripts and summaries (Seeking Alpha, Yahoo Finance) provide management commentary and Q&A that investors can use to assess sustainability of parts demand and margin outlook. AAR (AIR) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AAR from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on AAR in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price target on AAR from $109.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $128.00 price objective (up from $107.00) on shares of AAR in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on AAR from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.80.

Insider Activity

In other AAR news, CFO Sarah Louise Flanagan sold 10,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.56, for a total value of $1,167,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,565,978.88. This represents a 24.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.50, for a total transaction of $2,925,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 237,064 shares in the company, valued at $23,113,740. This represents a 11.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 128,984 shares of company stock worth $12,517,090. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AAR

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AAR during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of AAR in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of AAR in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in AAR in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in AAR in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 90.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AAR Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $110.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.32 and a beta of 1.19.

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.