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

Citigroup upgraded shares of Aercap (NYSE:AER) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

AER has been the subject of several other reports. Zacks Research cut Aercap from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Aercap from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Aercap from $164.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Aercap from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Aercap from $161.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $168.67.

Aercap Trading Up 1.0%

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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.17. Aercap has a 1-year low of $105.65 and a 1-year high of $155.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Aercap Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Aercap’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.01%.

Aercap announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Aercap

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Aercap in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $352,172,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aercap during the 4th quarter worth $282,665,000. L1 Capital International Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Aercap by 344.2% during the fourth quarter. L1 Capital International Pty Ltd now owns 1,527,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $219,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,616 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Aercap by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,272,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $470,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in Aercap by 642.7% in the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,111,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,498,000 after buying an additional 961,890 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

Aercap Company Profile

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.