Prudential PLC Grows Position in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Prudential PLC lifted its stake in shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,429 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in AerCap were worth $4,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in AerCap by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 19,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,837,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in AerCap by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $547,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in AerCap by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AerCap by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Williamson Legacy Group LLC raised its position in AerCap by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC now owns 10,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. 96.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AerCap Stock Down 9.3 %

Shares of NYSE AER opened at $89.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.72 billion, a PE ratio of 7.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. AerCap Holdings has a 12-month low of $81.93 and a 12-month high of $107.36. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.31.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.75. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for 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%. As a group, analysts expect that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AerCap declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AER. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group cut AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AerCap presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.43.

About AerCap

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.