Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $88.99 Million Stock Holdings in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in AAR Corp. by 10.3% during Q1, now owning approximately 1,589,320 shares valued at $88.99 million.
• Several hedge funds also raised their holdings in AAR, with notable increases from LPL Financial (13.3% boost) and JPMorgan Chase (215.9% boost) during the last quarter.
• AAR Corp. reported a strong quarterly performance with $1.16 EPS, exceeding estimates, and a revenue increase of 15% year-over-year.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR - Free Report) by 10.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,589,320 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 148,166 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned approximately 4.40% of AAR worth $88,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AIR. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in AAR during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in AAR during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC bought a new position in AAR during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in AAR by 761.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 887 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in AAR by 88.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the period. 90.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AAR

In other news, CFO Sean M. Gillen sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $1,392,660.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 99,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,726,787.16. This trade represents a 15.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.70, for a total transaction of $717,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 298,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,409,835.10. The trade was a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,182 shares of company stock valued at $7,331,452. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AAR Price Performance

AAR stock traded up $2.83 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $74.89. 706,599 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 521,725. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 226.95 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. AAR Corp. has a twelve month low of $46.51 and a twelve month high of $86.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.00.

AAR (NYSE:AIR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The aerospace company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.16. AAR had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 11.66%. The firm had revenue of $754.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $695.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that AAR Corp. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of AAR from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of AAR from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AAR from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of AAR from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus 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.