AAR (NYSE:AIR) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $61.75, but opened at $66.00. AAR shares last traded at $68.28, with a volume of 121,218 shares trading hands.

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 return on equity of 10.22% and a net margin of 2.67%. The business had revenue of $686.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $654.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on AIR shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AAR from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of AAR in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of AAR in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.00.

Institutional Trading of AAR

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AAR by 3.2% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,588,893 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $115,513,000 after purchasing an additional 48,630 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stake in AAR during the second quarter worth about $77,754,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of AAR by 13.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 969,741 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $59,591,000 after buying an additional 114,460 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in AAR by 1,956.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 909,953 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $66,154,000 after buying an additional 865,705 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AAR by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 796,962 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $52,101,000 after acquiring an additional 27,747 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.74% of the company’s stock.

AAR Trading Up 10.8 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.29. The company has a current ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 37.60 and a beta of 1.61.

AAR Company Profile

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.