Aercap (NYSE:AER) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Citigroup

Aercap (NYSE:AER) was upgraded by analysts at Citigroup to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on AER. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aercap from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Aercap from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays increased their target price on Aercap from $164.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Aercap from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Aercap from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aercap currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.67.

Aercap Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AER opened at $148.47 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $24.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.51, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.17. Aercap has a 12 month low of $105.65 and a 12 month high of $155.99.

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

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

Institutional Trading of Aercap

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AER. State Street Corp increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 184,425 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,179,241 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its position in 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. lifted its stake in Aercap by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,738,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $393,726,000 after acquiring an additional 71,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WGI DM LLC boosted its position in Aercap by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. WGI DM LLC now owns 2,586,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $371,837,000 after buying an additional 30,703 shares during the period. 96.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.