AAR (NYSE:AIR) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• AAR Corp (NYSE:AIR) has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a positive outlook for the company.
• The average target price for AAR's shares has increased to $83.75, supported by numerous analysts raising their forecasts.
• In its latest earnings report, AAR reported a 15% year-over-year revenue growth, surpassing analysts' estimates with earnings of $1.16 per share.

AAR (NYSE:AIR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on AIR. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of AAR from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of AAR from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of AAR from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $83.75.

AAR Price Performance

AIR stock opened at $72.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $70.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.89. AAR has a 52-week low of $46.51 and a 52-week high of $86.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 221.19 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.72.

AAR (NYSE:AIR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The aerospace company reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.16. AAR had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 11.66%. The company had revenue of $754.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $695.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that AAR will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AAR

In related news, CFO Sean M. Gillen sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $1,392,660.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 99,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,726,787.16. This represents a 15.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jessica A. Garascia sold 3,631 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.08, for a total transaction of $279,877.48. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 39,117 shares in the company, valued at $3,015,138.36. The trade was a 8.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 85,182 shares of company stock valued at $6,614,452 over the last quarter. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AAR

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in AAR by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 11,601 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in AAR by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,840,885 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $235,369,000 after acquiring an additional 58,694 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in AAR by 215.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 128,676 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,885,000 after acquiring an additional 87,939 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in AAR in the 4th quarter worth about $6,321,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in AAR by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,404 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179 shares in the last quarter. 90.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AAR Company Profile

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.

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