Aercap (NYSE:AER) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Aercap (NYSE:AER) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Aercap in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $173.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Aercap from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Aercap from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aercap from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Aercap from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.67.

Aercap Price Performance

NYSE:AER opened at $150.80 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.61, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 0.24 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.28. Aercap has a 1 year low of $105.65 and a 1 year high of $155.99.

Aercap (NYSE:AER) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $5.39 earnings per share for the quarter. Aercap had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 45.22%.The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that Aercap will post 17.39 EPS for the current year.

Aercap Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Aercap’s payout ratio is currently 7.01%.

Aercap declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aercap

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Aercap by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,112,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $735,003,000 after acquiring an additional 184,425 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Aercap by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,272,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $470,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,241 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Aercap by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,804,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $403,103,000 after purchasing an additional 31,794 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Aercap by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,738,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $393,726,000 after purchasing an additional 71,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WGI DM LLC grew its stake in Aercap by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. WGI DM LLC now owns 2,586,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $371,837,000 after purchasing an additional 30,703 shares in the last quarter. 96.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Aercap

Here are the key news stories impacting Aercap this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AerCap announced a direct order for 15 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, which will expand its 787 fleet to about 140 aircraft and signals continued demand for its leasing portfolio. AerCap Announces Order for 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup initiated coverage with a buy rating and a $173 price target, while Zacks Research upgraded the stock from hold to strong-buy, reinforcing a more favorable analyst view. Citigroup coverage and price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage around the Boeing order at Farnborough and in industry publications is likely helping keep the story in focus, but these reports mainly repeat the same core announcement rather than add new financial details. Day Two: Boeing Wins More Widebody Business as PAL Returns to Airbus

About Aercap

AerCap Holdings N.V. (NYSE: AER) is a global aircraft leasing and aviation finance company that acquires, leases, sells and manages commercial aircraft and engines. Its core services include operating leases, finance leases, sale-and-leaseback transactions, aircraft trading and remarketing, and asset management for airline customers. The company also provides related commercial and technical support services designed to optimize fleet utilization and residual values over the life cycle of aircraft and engines.

Operating with a broad global footprint, AerCap serves airlines and other aviation customers across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.