AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) SVP Christopher A. Jessup Sells 33,481 Shares

AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) SVP Christopher A. Jessup sold 33,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total value of $2,357,062.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 63,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,449,913.60. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

AAR Price Performance

NYSE AIR traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 363,024. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $65.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.23. AAR Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $54.71 and a fifty-two week high of $76.34. The stock has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 254.72 and a beta of 1.61.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.07. AAR had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 0.41%. The company had revenue of $686.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $654.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. AAR’s revenue was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that AAR Corp. will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on AIR shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AAR from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of AAR in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of AAR in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on shares of AAR in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AAR presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

Institutional Trading of AAR

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in AAR in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $77,754,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in AAR by 32.9% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 732,957 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $47,906,000 after purchasing an additional 181,518 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in AAR by 83.6% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 297,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $21,627,000 after acquiring an additional 135,445 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in AAR by 20.5% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 790,267 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $51,652,000 after acquiring an additional 134,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 114,460 shares during the last quarter. 90.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.