Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Raises Stake in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) by 27.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,179 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in AAR were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AIR. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AAR by 13.4% during the 3rd 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AAR during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,849,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AAR during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,321,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of AAR by 215.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 128,676 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,885,000 after buying an additional 87,939 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AAR by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 500,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,693,000 after acquiring an additional 77,974 shares during the last quarter. 90.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AAR

In other AAR news, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 341,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,194,360.80. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Christopher A. Jessup sold 33,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,357,062.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,209 shares in the company, valued at $4,449,913.60. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AAR Price Performance

Shares of AIR stock opened at $52.15 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. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 186.24 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.32. AAR Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $46.51 and a fifty-two week high of $76.34.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered AAR from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of AAR from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of AAR from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.20.

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.