Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Raises Holdings in Aercap Holdings N.V. $AER

Key Points

• Nippon Life Global Investors Americas increased its stake in Aercap by 4.2%, acquiring 7,660 shares to hold 189,430 shares worth about $27,232,000, representing roughly 0.10% of the company.
• Aercap reported a strong quarter with $3.95 EPS vs. $3.31 expected and $2.36B in revenue vs. $2.07B expected, and sell-side analysts now peg the stock at an average target of $153.38 with an overall "Moderate Buy" consensus.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.27 to $0.40 (annualized $1.60), yielding about 1.2% and reflecting a low payout ratio of roughly 7.5%.

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. grew its position in shares of Aercap Holdings N.V. (NYSE:AER - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 189,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,660 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. owned 0.10% of Aercap worth $27,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AER. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Aercap during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aercap during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aercap during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aercap by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Aercap by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 359 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.42% of the company's stock.

Aercap Price Performance

Shares of Aercap stock opened at $138.01 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.03 billion, a PE ratio of 6.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50-day moving average price is $142.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.04. Aercap Holdings N.V. has a 12 month low of $101.86 and a 12 month high of $154.94.

Aercap (NYSE:AER - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Aercap had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 44.04%.The company's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aercap Holdings N.V. will post 15.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aercap Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Aercap's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Aercap's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Aercap from $144.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Aercap in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Aercap in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Aercap from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Aercap from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $153.38.

Aercap 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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