AAR (NYSE:AIR) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $108.47 and last traded at $108.0910, with a volume of 266108 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $105.91.

Key Headlines Impacting AAR

Here are the key news stories impacting AAR this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AAR’s recent quarterly report showed revenue and EPS upside and rising year?over?year sales, supporting analyst upgrades and a consensus “Moderate Buy.” Institutional coverage has trended constructive, with several firms raising targets or upgrading ratings. MarketBeat AAR Profile & Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Industry commentary points to robust demand for aircraft components and aftermarket services — AAR’s core businesses — which underpins upside potential in its MRO and supply-chain segments. AAR Jets Higher on Robust Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and sector pieces highlight AAR’s relative performance versus peers (e.g., BWXT) and broader aerospace trends; useful context but not an immediate catalyst. Zacks: Aerospace Stocks & AAR
• Neutral Sentiment: Market chatter about unusual options activity has drawn attention, but reporting is exploratory — could reflect positioning rather than firm-specific news. MSN Options Flow Article
• Negative Sentiment: CEO John McClain Holmes III sold 10,000 shares (?$108.44 avg) on Feb. 3 — part of a string of recent insider sales — which can weigh on sentiment even though he retains a sizable holding. CEO Form 4 (SEC)
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Sarah Louise Flanagan sold 10,750 shares (?$108.56 avg) on Feb. 4, reducing her stake by ~24.7% — another near-term negative catalyst for the stock’s tone. CFO Form 4 (SEC)

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AIR shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $112.00 price objective on shares of AAR and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of AAR from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of AAR from $93.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of AAR from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, 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 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.80.

AAR Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $91.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.97 and a beta of 1.23.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 6th. The aerospace company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $795.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $760.95 million. AAR had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 3.17%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AAR Corp. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AAR

In related news, CFO Sarah Louise Flanagan sold 10,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.56, for a total value of $1,167,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,848 shares in the company, valued at $3,565,978.88. This represents a 24.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher A. Jessup sold 23,621 shares of AAR stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.05, for a total value of $2,292,418.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 65,769 shares in the company, valued at $6,382,881.45. The trade was a 26.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 128,984 shares of company stock worth $12,517,090 in the last three months. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AAR

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AAR by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in AAR by 1.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,683 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $958,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in AAR by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 950 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in AAR by 1.7% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,243 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $918,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in AAR by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 5,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.74% of the company’s stock.

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.