StandardAero (NYSE:SARO) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of StandardAero, Inc. (NYSE:SARO) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 10,088,881 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 157% from the previous session’s volume of 3,918,707 shares.The stock last traded at $31.7730 and had previously closed at $33.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SARO shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of StandardAero from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 14th. Zacks Research downgraded StandardAero from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut StandardAero from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of StandardAero in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of StandardAero from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, StandardAero currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.57.

StandardAero Stock Down 3.5%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.01. The firm has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.10 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

StandardAero (NYSE:SARO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. StandardAero had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 3.15%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.06 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that StandardAero, Inc. will post 0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StandardAero declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to repurchase $450.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at StandardAero

In other news, CEO Russell Wayne Ford sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.24, for a total value of $1,209,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 886,955 shares in the company, valued at $26,821,519.20. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StandardAero

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Carlyle Group Inc. lifted its holdings in StandardAero by 13.6% during the second quarter. Carlyle Group Inc. now owns 152,673,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,832,129,000 after acquiring an additional 18,321,061 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of StandardAero by 311.6% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,548,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,759,000 after acquiring an additional 6,471,813 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of StandardAero during the second quarter worth about $203,038,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of StandardAero by 90.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,047,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,391,000 after purchasing an additional 2,875,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of StandardAero by 8,451.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,827,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,883,000 after purchasing an additional 1,806,520 shares during the period.

About StandardAero

StandardAero is a global aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider specializing in gas turbine engines, auxiliary power units (APUs), airframe components and oil & gas rotating equipment. The company offers a full suite of technical services including engine repair and overhaul, component repair, accessory maintenance, parts manufacturing and on-site field support. Its customer base spans commercial airlines, business and general aviation operators, regional carriers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and defense organizations.

With roots dating back to 1911, StandardAero has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest independent MRO providers in the industry.