Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 127,821 Shares of Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica (NYSE:ERJ)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica (NYSE:ERJ - Free Report) by 72.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 49,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 127,821 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica were worth $2,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 26,461 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $971,000 after buying an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 75,785 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,780,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its holdings in shares of Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 6,689 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 41,389 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,518,000 after buying an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. grew its position in shares of Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica by 71.9% in the fourth quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 1,934 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 34.65% of the company's stock.

Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica Stock Performance

NYSE ERJ traded down $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $48.77. 1,571,066 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,528,583. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $51.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.58 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica has a fifty-two week low of $26.04 and a fifty-two week high of $61.65.

Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica (NYSE:ERJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.19. Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 6.02%. 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 posted ($0.48) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a -- dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.049 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $39.00 price target (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wolfe Research reiterated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.40.

Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica Profile

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.