Earnest Partners LLC Lowers Position in AAR Corp. $AIR

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC reduced its holdings in AAR Corp. by 1.8%, retaining 1,500,303 shares valued at approximately $84 million following the sale of 27,344 shares.
• AAR Corp. reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.16, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.00, with revenues of $754.5 million—a 15% increase year-over-year.
• Insider selling has occurred recently, with CEO John Mcclain Holmes III selling 31,551 shares for over $2.4 million, and the total insider sales over the last three months amounting to $7.3 million.

Earnest Partners LLC cut its stake in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,500,303 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 27,344 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned 4.16% of AAR worth $84,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AIR. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AAR in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AAR in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of AAR in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of AAR in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of AAR by 88.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. 90.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Sean M. Gillen sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $1,392,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 99,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,726,787.16. This trade represents a 15.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.70, for a total value of $717,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,603 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,409,835.10. The trade was a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 95,182 shares of company stock worth $7,331,452. Insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

AAR Stock Performance

AAR stock traded down $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $75.50. The stock had a trading volume of 206,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 357,761. AAR Corp. has a 1 year low of $46.51 and a 1 year high of $86.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock's 50 day moving average is $74.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.69. The stock has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 228.78 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AIR. KeyCorp upped their target price on AAR from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Truist Financial upped their target price on AAR from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on AAR from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AAR from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.