MetLife Investment Management LLC Buys 5,900 Shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 35.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,900 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AerCap were worth $2,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AerCap by 5.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,601,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $545,726,000 after buying an additional 282,980 shares in the last quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP increased its holdings in AerCap by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 3,097,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,463,000 after buying an additional 38,264 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its holdings in AerCap by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,934,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,802,000 after buying an additional 86,548 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its position in shares of AerCap by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,550,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,068,000 after purchasing an additional 167,830 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AerCap during the 4th quarter valued at $218,517,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on AER shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group cut AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on AerCap from $112.00 to $101.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna upped their target price on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AerCap presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.14.

AerCap Stock Up 0.5 %

AerCap stock opened at $103.82 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $99.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.46. AerCap Holdings has a twelve month low of $82.21 and a twelve month high of $107.36.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.75. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. AerCap had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 32.38%. On average, analysts forecast that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. This is a boost from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.99%.

AerCap announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

AerCap Company Profile

AerCap Holdings N.V. engages in the lease, financing, sale, and management of commercial flight equipment in China, Hong Kong, Macau, the United States, Ireland, and internationally. The company offers aircraft asset management services, such as remarketing aircraft and engines; collecting rental and maintenance rent payments, monitoring aircraft maintenance, monitoring and enforcing contract compliance, and accepting delivery and redelivery of aircraft and engines; and conducting ongoing lessee financial performance reviews.