AAR (NYSE:AIR) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a sell rating. The stock had previously closed at $68.35, but opened at $63.58. AAR shares last traded at $59.00, with a volume of 330,752 shares changing hands.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Truist Financial dropped their price target on AAR from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of AAR in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AAR news, CFO Sean M. Gillen sold 17,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.33, for a total value of $1,153,147.05. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,797,383.58. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Jessica A. Garascia sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $100,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 37,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,513,098.50. The trade was a 3.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,793 shares of company stock worth $12,538,396 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in AAR by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of AAR by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,505 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of AAR by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AAR by 6.1% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,818 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of AAR by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 7,015 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.74% of the company’s stock.

AAR Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $66.69 and a 200 day moving average of $65.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 204.08 and a beta of 1.58.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The aerospace company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.03. AAR had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The firm had revenue of $678.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AAR Corp. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

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.