Fred Alger Management LLC Acquires 131,092 Shares of AAR Corp. $AIR

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in AAR Corp. by 32.6% during the 1st quarter, owning approximately 1.48% of the company valued at about $29.9 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Bank of America and Deutsche Bank, have also significantly increased their positions in AAR, with 90.74% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• AAR reported earnings of $1.16 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and reflecting a 15% year-over-year revenue growth.

Fred Alger Management LLC grew its position in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR - Free Report) by 32.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 533,770 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 131,092 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned 1.48% of AAR worth $29,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AAR in the 1st quarter valued at $526,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of AAR during the first quarter worth $209,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of AAR by 41.8% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 158,461 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,872,000 after purchasing an additional 46,696 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AAR by 69,568.8% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 22,294 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 22,262 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of AAR by 10,454.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 63,325 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,546,000 after purchasing an additional 62,725 shares during the last quarter. 90.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jennifer L. Vogel sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $546,490.00. Following the sale, the director owned 22,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,267.90. This trade represents a 23.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sean M. Gillen sold 18,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 99,868 shares in the company, valued at $7,726,787.16. This trade represents a 15.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 95,182 shares of company stock worth $7,331,452. Insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

AAR Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AIR traded up $1.35 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $75.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 197,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 308,941. AAR Corp. has a 12-month low of $46.51 and a 12-month 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $75.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 228.48 and a beta of 1.50.

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, equities analysts predict that AAR Corp. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AIR. Truist Financial lifted their target price on AAR from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AAR from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on AAR from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on AAR from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, AAR has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price 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.