Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.05 Million in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 16,800 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,048,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in AAR in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,254,000. Ziegler Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AAR in the 3rd quarter valued at $839,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of AAR by 56.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 957 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in AAR in the third quarter valued at $109,000. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC raised its stake in AAR by 4.6% in the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 125,525 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $7,473,000 after buying an additional 5,511 shares in the last quarter. 90.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AIR. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of AAR in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of AAR from $65.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of AAR in a research report on Monday, January 29th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AAR has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AAR news, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 28,145 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.96, for a total value of $1,631,284.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 303,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,597,873.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Jessica A. Garascia sold 7,352 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.37, for a total transaction of $465,896.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 28,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,784,816.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 28,145 shares of AAR stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.96, for a total value of $1,631,284.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 303,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,597,873.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 64,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,858,323. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AAR Stock Performance

AIR traded down $0.53 during trading on Thursday, reaching $67.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 363,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 348,727. AAR Corp. has a 52-week low of $50.06 and a 52-week high of $73.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.90. The company's fifty day moving average price is $63.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.28. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.66 and a beta of 1.67.

AAR (NYSE:AIR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The aerospace company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.01. AAR had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 10.17%. On average, equities analysts forecast that AAR Corp. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About AAR

AAR Corp. provides products and services to commercial aviation, government, and defense markets worldwide. It operates through Aviation Services and Expeditionary Services segments. The Aviation Services segment engages in lease and sale of new, overhauled and repaired engine, and airframe parts and components, as well as aircrafts; and offers customized flight hour component inventory and repair, warranty claim management, and outsourcing programs for engine and airframe parts and components.