MetLife Investment Management LLC Purchases 5,900 Shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER - Free Report) by 35.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in AerCap were worth $2,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of AerCap by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,478 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in AerCap by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 11,474 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,098,000 after buying an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Kize Capital LP lifted its holdings in AerCap by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Kize Capital LP now owns 142,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,597,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its stake in shares of AerCap by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 9,516 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in shares of AerCap by 124.0% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 10,792 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 5,974 shares during the period. 96.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna upped their price target on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group cut AerCap to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on AerCap from $112.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.14.

AerCap Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE AER opened at $103.82 on Tuesday. AerCap Holdings has a 12 month low of $82.21 and a 12 month high of $107.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.23, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.26 and a 200-day moving average of $97.43.

AerCap (NYSE:AER - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.75. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. AerCap had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 32.38%. Sell-side analysts expect that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. This is a positive change from AerCap's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. AerCap's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.99%.

AerCap announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

AerCap Profile

AerCap Holdings N.V. engages in the lease, financing, sale, and management of commercial flight equipment in China, Hong Kong, Macau, the United States, Ireland, and internationally. The company offers aircraft asset management services, such as remarketing aircraft and engines; collecting rental and maintenance rent payments, monitoring aircraft maintenance, monitoring and enforcing contract compliance, and accepting delivery and redelivery of aircraft and engines; and conducting ongoing lessee financial performance reviews.

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