AerCap (NYSE:AER) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's Why

AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $112.00 and last traded at $111.20, with a volume of 547991 shares. The stock had previously closed at $109.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AER shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AerCap from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of AerCap from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group cut shares of AerCap to an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AerCap from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.25.

AerCap Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $21.15 billion, a PE ratio of 8.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's 50-day moving average is $101.55 and its 200 day moving average is $98.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

AerCap (NYSE:AER - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.99. AerCap had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

AerCap Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. AerCap's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.58%.

AerCap announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AerCap

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of AerCap by 1.8% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in AerCap by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 19,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,837,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of AerCap by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,566 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of AerCap by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its holdings in shares of AerCap by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 24,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,475,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. 96.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AerCap

AerCap Holdings N.V. engages in the lease, financing, sale, and management of commercial flight equipment in China, Hong Kong, Macau, the United States, Ireland, and internationally. The company offers aircraft asset management services, such as remarketing aircraft and engines; collecting rental and maintenance rent payments, monitoring aircraft maintenance, monitoring and enforcing contract compliance, and accepting delivery and redelivery of aircraft and engines; and conducting ongoing lessee financial performance reviews.