Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Decreases Stock Holdings in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL trimmed its stake in shares of AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 278,105 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,950 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned approximately 0.78% of AAR worth $16,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AIR. Raymond James & Associates purchased a new position in shares of AAR during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $290,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of AAR by 124.6% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,251 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of AAR by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 16,272 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in AAR by 1,312.5% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,536 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,467,000 after buying an additional 36,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in AAR during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,048,000. 90.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AAR

In related news, CAO Eric Pachapa sold 5,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $363,386.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,015 shares in the company, valued at $1,775,064.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Christopher A. Jessup sold 15,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.09, for a total transaction of $1,116,463.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 51,803 shares in the company, valued at $3,630,872.27. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Eric Pachapa sold 5,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $363,386.16. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,775,064.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,023 shares of company stock valued at $2,528,708 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

AAR Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AIR traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.62. The stock had a trading volume of 306,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 339,788. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $70.22 and a 200-day moving average of $66.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 2.98. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.19 and a beta of 1.54. AAR Corp. has a 12-month low of $55.00 and a 12-month high of $76.34.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The aerospace company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $656.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $660.05 million. AAR had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 10.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AAR Corp. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of AAR from $86.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of AAR from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price on shares of AAR from $65.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AAR has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.50.

About AAR

AAR Corp. provides products and services to commercial aviation, government, and defense markets worldwide. It operates through Aviation Services and Expeditionary Services segments. The Aviation Services segment engages in lease and sale of new, overhauled and repaired engine, and airframe parts and components, as well as aircrafts; and offers customized flight hour component inventory and repair, warranty claim management, and outsourcing programs for engine and airframe parts and components.