Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Invests $209,000 in AAR Corp. $AIR

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased 3,740 shares of AAR Corp., valued at approximately $209,000, indicating growing interest from institutional investors.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their ratings and price targets for AAR Corp., with the average target now at $83.75 and multiple firms assigning it a "buy" rating.
• Recent insider trading activity includes significant sales by executives, with CAO Jessica A. Garascia and CFO Sean M. Gillen selling shares valued at $279,877 and $1.39 million respectively.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,740 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of AAR during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in AAR during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC acquired a new position in AAR during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AAR by 761.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 887 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in AAR by 88.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. 90.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AAR Price Performance

Shares of AIR stock traded up $1.67 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $76.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 238,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 371,361. AAR Corp. has a 1-year low of $46.51 and a 1-year high of $86.43. The company has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 232.63 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. The firm's 50-day moving average is $73.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.54.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $695.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that AAR Corp. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AAR

In other news, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 31,551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.03, for a total value of $2,461,924.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 360,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,162,665.63. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jessica A. Garascia sold 3,631 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.08, for a total transaction of $279,877.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 39,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,015,138.36. The trade was a 8.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,182 shares of company stock worth $7,331,452. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of AAR from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of AAR from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of AAR from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AAR from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.75.

About AAR

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.