Meridian Wealth Management LLC Reduces Position in Aercap Holdings N.V. $AER

Key Points

• Meridian Wealth Management reduced its Aercap stake by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,876 shares and ending with 129,211 shares valued at about $18.6 million.
• Aercap reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $5.39 EPS versus the $3.59 estimate and revenue of $2.30 billion, up 7.9% year over year.
• The company also approved a $1 billion share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, while analysts largely remain bullish with an average Buy rating and $163.13 price target.

Meridian Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Aercap Holdings N.V. (NYSE:AER - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,876 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Aercap worth $18,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AER. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP lifted its holdings in Aercap by 45,615.5% during the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 3,510,491 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $424,769,000 after purchasing an additional 3,502,812 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in Aercap by 642.7% during the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,111,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $134,498,000 after purchasing an additional 961,890 shares during the last quarter. High Ground Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in Aercap during the third quarter valued at about $90,571,000. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Aercap by 178.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,158,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $166,604,000 after purchasing an additional 742,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WGI DM LLC lifted its holdings in Aercap by 40.6% during the third quarter. WGI DM LLC now owns 2,555,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $309,253,000 after purchasing an additional 738,176 shares during the last quarter. 96.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aercap Stock Down 2.6%

AER stock opened at $146.13 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34. The company's 50 day moving average is $140.99 and its 200 day moving average is $140.49. The stock has a market cap of $24.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.95. Aercap Holdings N.V. has a 1-year low of $105.65 and a 1-year high of $154.94.

Aercap (NYSE:AER - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.59 by $1.80. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. Aercap had a net margin of 45.22% and a return on equity of 16.01%. Aercap's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.68 earnings per share. Aercap has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.500-14.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Aercap Holdings N.V. will post 17.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aercap declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Aercap Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Aercap's dividend payout ratio is 7.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Aercap from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Aercap from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Aercap from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $175.00 price target on Aercap and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Aercap from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aercap currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $163.13.

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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