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

Key Points

• AAR stock hit a new 52-week high after KeyCorp raised its price target from $120 to $132 and kept an overweight rating, with analysts' consensus at a "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $131.20 (five Buys, two Holds).
• The company posted better-than-expected quarterly results—EPS $1.25 vs. $1.21 estimate and revenue $845.1M vs. $812.6M, up 24.6% year-over-year—helping fuel the rally.
• Insiders have been net sellers, offloading 187,295 shares in the past three months including the CEO's sale of 60,000 shares (a 20.33% reduction in his holdings); insiders now own 3.6% of the stock.

AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR - Get Free Report)'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 changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $120.78.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on AIR. Zacks Research cut AAR from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings raised AAR from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $128.00 target price (up from $107.00) on shares of AAR in a research note on Friday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on AAR in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on AAR to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AAR currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $131.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.41, for a total transaction of $6,744,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 235,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,423,544.24. This trade represents a 20.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher A. Jessup sold 23,621 shares of the 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 owned 65,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 187,295 shares of company stock worth $19,680,921. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AAR

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in AAR during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in AAR during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in AAR during the third quarter worth about $27,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in AAR during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in AAR during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 90.74% of the company's stock.

AAR Stock Up 1.9%

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

AAR (NYSE:AIR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $845.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.58 million. AAR had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 5.46%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AAR Corp. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current 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.

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