New York State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Holdings in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,659 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in AAR were worth $3,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of AAR during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its stake in shares of AAR by 133.3% during the fourth quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 1,400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of AAR by 32.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,324 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AAR by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 2,711 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AAR during the fourth quarter valued at about $203,000. 90.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AAR Stock Performance

Shares of AIR stock opened at $61.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.68. AAR Corp. has a one year low of $54.71 and a one year high of $76.34. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 220.85 and a beta of 1.61.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.07. AAR had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The firm had revenue of $686.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $654.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. AAR’s revenue was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that AAR Corp. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AAR news, CFO Sean M. Gillen sold 17,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.33, for a total value of $1,153,147.05. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,797,383.58. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.81, for a total transaction of $354,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 341,680 shares in the company, valued at $24,194,360.80. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,793 shares of company stock valued at $12,538,396 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AIR. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of AAR in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of AAR in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of AAR from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AAR presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

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.