Wall Street Zen Downgrades AAR (NYSE:AIR) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has downgraded AAR Corp (NYSE:AIR) from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating, reflecting a shift in investor sentiment.
• Despite the downgrade, analysts maintain a consensus price target of $83.75 for the stock, with a majority holding a "Moderate Buy" rating.
• Recent insider trading includes significant stock sales by both the CAO and CEO, indicating a possible change in their confidence regarding the company's future performance.

AAR (NYSE:AIR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on AIR. Truist Financial increased their target price on AAR from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on AAR from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on AAR from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.75.

AAR Stock Down 1.0%

AAR stock traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $76.02. The company had a trading volume of 304,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 493,050. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $69.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.71. AAR has a 12 month low of $46.51 and a 12 month high of $86.43. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 230.36 and a beta of 1.44.

AAR (NYSE:AIR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The aerospace company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.16. AAR had a return on equity of 11.66% and a net margin of 0.45%. 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AAR will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 31,551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.03, for a total transaction of $2,461,924.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 360,921 shares in the company, valued at $28,162,665.63. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Jessica A. Garascia sold 3,631 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.08, for a total value of $279,877.48. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 39,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,015,138.36. This trade represents a 8.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 85,182 shares of company stock valued at $6,614,452. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AAR

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AIR. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AAR during the 1st quarter worth approximately $526,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in AAR by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,840,885 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $235,369,000 after buying an additional 58,694 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in AAR by 10,454.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 63,325 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,546,000 after buying an additional 62,725 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in AAR in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $294,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in AAR by 60.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 26,173 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,604,000 after acquiring an additional 9,846 shares during the last quarter. 90.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.