Nuveen LLC Acquires New Shares in AAR Corp. $AIR

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired 111,190 shares of AAR Corp., totaling approximately $6.2 million, increasing their ownership to around 0.31%.
• AAR Corp. reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.16, surpassing analysts' estimates of $1.00, with a revenue increase of 15.0% year-over-year.
• Several analysts have upgraded AAR Corp.'s stock rating to "buy," with target prices ranging from $81.00 to $86.00, reflecting positive market sentiment.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 111,190 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $6,226,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.31% of AAR at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 148,166 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in AAR by 8.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,160,420 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $64,972,000 after purchasing an additional 89,802 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its holdings in AAR by 4.2% during the first quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 510,814 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $28,600,000 after purchasing an additional 20,654 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in AAR by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 480,338 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $29,436,000 after purchasing an additional 15,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in AAR by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 389,313 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $23,858,000 after purchasing an additional 39,505 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.74% of the company's stock.

AAR Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE AIR traded down $0.32 on Friday, hitting $75.50. 206,261 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 351,097. AAR Corp. has a 52-week low of $46.51 and a 52-week high of $86.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 228.78 and a beta of 1.50. The company's 50-day moving average price is $74.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.69.

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

Insider Activity at AAR

In other news, CAO Jessica A. Garascia sold 3,631 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 39,117 shares in the company, valued at $3,015,138.36. The trade was a 8.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jennifer L. Vogel sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $546,490.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,267.90. This represents a 23.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,182 shares of company stock valued at $7,331,452. Insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on AAR from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on AAR from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised AAR from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on AAR from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $83.75.

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.