AAR (NYSE:AIR) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $74.88, but opened at $78.18. AAR shares last traded at $83.95, with a volume of 461,021 shares traded.

The aerospace company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.16. AAR had a return on equity of 11.71% and a net margin of 0.45%. The firm had revenue of $754.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $695.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on AAR from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp boosted their target price on AAR from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised AAR from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 19th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on AAR from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AIR. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in AAR by 10.3% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,589,320 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $88,986,000 after purchasing an additional 148,166 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its position in AAR by 32.6% during the first quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 533,770 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $29,886,000 after purchasing an additional 131,092 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in AAR by 293.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 171,203 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $10,491,000 after purchasing an additional 127,668 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in AAR by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,070,618 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $65,607,000 after purchasing an additional 127,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in AAR during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,849,000. 90.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AAR Stock Down 1.7%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.01 and a 200 day moving average of $63.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 253.58 and a beta of 1.44.

About AAR

AAR Corp. provides products and services to commercial aviation, government, and defense markets worldwide. The Parts Supply segment leases and sells aircraft components and replacement parts. The Repair & Engineering segment provides airframe maintenance services, such as airframe inspection, painting, line maintenance, airframe modification, structural repair, avionics service and installation, exterior and interior refurbishment, and engineering and support services; component repair services comprising maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services, engine and airframe accessories, and interior refurbishment; and landing gear overhaul services, including repair services on wheels and brakes.