Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. Invests $1.42 Million in AAR Corp. $AIR

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. purchased a new stake of 17,099 shares in AAR Corp. (NYSE: AIR) during Q4, valued at about $1.42 million according to its Form 13F filing.
• AAR beat estimates in its most recent quarter—EPS $1.25 vs. $1.21 and revenue $845.1M vs. $812.6M—with revenue up 24.6% year-over-year, and analysts have lifted price targets to produce a consensus “Moderate Buy” average target of $131.20 as the stock trades near its 12‑month high.
• Insiders have been selling significant stock—CFO sold 10,750 shares and the CEO sold 60,000 shares—with insiders disposing of 106,925 shares (~$11.8M) over the last 90 days; institutional investors own about 90.74% of AAR while insiders hold ~3.6%.

Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 17,099 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,416,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC lifted its stake in AAR by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 950 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in AAR during the 4th quarter valued at $1,470,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in AAR by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 21,647 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,791,000 after purchasing an additional 2,030 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its holdings in AAR by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 62,659 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $5,188,000 after purchasing an additional 4,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its position in shares of AAR by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 4,800 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.74% of the company's stock.

AAR Trading Up 3.7%

NYSE AIR opened at $122.95 on Friday. AAR Corp. has a 12 month low of $50.28 and a 12 month high of $127.21. The stock has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.26 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $113.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

AAR (NYSE:AIR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $845.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.58 million. AAR had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 5.46%.AAR's quarterly revenue was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AAR Corp. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other AAR news, CFO Sarah Louise Flanagan sold 10,750 shares of AAR stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.56, for a total value of $1,167,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,565,978.88. The trade was a 24.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.41, for a total transaction of $6,744,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 235,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,423,544.24. This represents a 20.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 106,925 shares of company stock valued at $11,812,450 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AIR. Zacks Research lowered shares of AAR from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of AAR from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of AAR to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen raised AAR from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on AAR in a research report on Monday, January 26th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $131.20.

About AAR

AAR Corp. NYSE: AIR is a global provider of aviation products and services to commercial, government and defense customers. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) solutions, component repair and overhaul, and engineering services designed to support a wide variety of fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. Leveraging FAA and EASA certifications, AAR delivers turnkey maintenance programs and ad hoc repair services that enhance aircraft availability and reliability.

In its Aviation Supply Chain Services segment, AAR sources, stores and distributes parts for both commercial airlines and military operators.

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