AAR (NYSE:AIR) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $120.00 to $132.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. AAR traded as high as $123.03 and last traded at $123.18, with a volume of 67623 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $120.78.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded AAR from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research lowered AAR from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on AAR from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on AAR in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $121.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AAR from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.20.

Insider Transactions at AAR

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Jessup sold 23,621 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.05, for a total transaction of $2,292,418.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 65,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,382,881.45. This trade represents a 26.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.41, for a total value of $6,744,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 235,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,423,544.24. This trade represents a 20.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 187,295 shares of company stock worth $19,680,921. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AAR

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in AAR by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 3,618 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in AAR by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position 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 in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in AAR by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 950 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in AAR by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.74% of the company’s stock.

AAR Stock Up 1.9%

The firm has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.70 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $111.31 and a 200-day moving average of $95.05.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $845.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $812.58 million. AAR had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 5.46%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that AAR Corp. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AAR Company Profile

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.