Aercap Holdings N.V. $AER Stock Position Lifted by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs boosted its Aercap stake by 30.8% to 405,254 shares (about $58.3M), and institutional investors collectively own roughly 96.42% of the company.
• Q4 beat and dividend hike: Aercap reported EPS of $3.95 vs. $3.31 and revenue of $2.36B vs. $2.07B, posted a 44.04% net margin, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.40 ($1.60 annualized).
• Analyst view and valuation: The consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" (eight Buys, two Holds) with a price target of $153.38; the stock trades near $138 with a PE of 6.48 and debt/equity of 2.38.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in shares of Aercap Holdings N.V. (NYSE:AER - Free Report) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 405,254 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 95,540 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.22% of Aercap worth $58,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Aercap in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Aercap in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Aercap in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Aercap by 26.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 447 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Aercap by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 359 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 96.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AER has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Aercap from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Aercap in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Aercap and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Aercap from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Aercap from $144.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $153.38.

Aercap Stock Performance

NYSE:AER opened at $138.31 on Thursday. Aercap Holdings N.V. has a 1 year low of $98.74 and a 1 year high of $154.94. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $142.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.08 billion, a PE ratio of 6.48, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.99.

Aercap (NYSE:AER - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $3.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.64. Aercap had a net margin of 44.04% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.31 EPS. Aercap's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aercap Holdings N.V. will post 15.4 EPS for the current year.

Aercap Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Aercap's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Aercap's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.50%.

Aercap Company Profile

AerCap Holdings N.V. NYSE: AER is a global aircraft leasing and aviation finance company that acquires, leases, sells and manages commercial aircraft and engines. Its core services include operating leases, finance leases, sale-and-leaseback transactions, aircraft trading and remarketing, and asset management for airline customers. The company also provides related commercial and technical support services designed to optimize fleet utilization and residual values over the life cycle of aircraft and engines.

Operating with a broad global footprint, AerCap serves airlines and other aviation customers across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

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