Nicholas Investment Partners LP Raises Stake in Embraer S.A. (NYSE:ERJ)

Nicholas Investment Partners LP boosted its position in Embraer S.A. (NYSE:ERJ - Free Report) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 648,085 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 64,098 shares during the quarter. Embraer makes up about 2.1% of Nicholas Investment Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Nicholas Investment Partners LP owned about 0.35% of Embraer worth $23,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Embraer by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 177,602 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,514,000 after acquiring an additional 8,938 shares during the period. Ninety One North America Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Embraer by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 84,451 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,098,000 after acquiring an additional 10,665 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Embraer during the 4th quarter worth about $243,000. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Embraer by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,298 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new position in Embraer during the 4th quarter valued at about $384,000. 34.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Embraer Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:ERJ traded up $1.21 during trading on Monday, hitting $50.02. 273,058 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,538,532. Embraer S.A. has a 1-year low of $25.24 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39 and a beta of 1.67.

Embraer (NYSE:ERJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.19. Embraer had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 11.61%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.48) EPS. Embraer's revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Embraer S.A. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Embraer Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.049 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Embraer's dividend payout ratio is currently 1.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ERJ shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Embraer from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Embraer from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wolfe Research restated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Embraer in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "sell" rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Embraer in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.75.

About Embraer

Embraer SA designs, develops, manufactures, and sells aircraft and systems in North America, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Brazil, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Commercial Aviation; Defense & Security; Executive Aviation; Services & Support; and Other segments. The Commercial Aviation segment designs, develops, manufactures, and sells commercial jets, as well as leases aircraft.