Nicholas Investment Partners LP Boosts Stake in Embraer S.A. (NYSE:ERJ)

Nicholas Investment Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Embraer S.A. (NYSE:ERJ) by 424.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 526,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 426,153 shares during the quarter. Embraer accounts for 1.4% of Nicholas Investment Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Nicholas Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Embraer were worth $13,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ERJ. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Embraer by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,304,245 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $59,450,000 after purchasing an additional 137,695 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Embraer by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 797,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $21,249,000 after purchasing an additional 59,084 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Embraer during the first quarter worth about $18,158,000. Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Embraer by 88.4% during the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 623,645 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $16,614,000 after buying an additional 292,630 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. boosted its position in Embraer by 6.6% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 497,425 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $12,834,000 after acquiring an additional 30,844 shares during the last quarter. 34.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Embraer Stock Performance

Embraer stock opened at $34.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Embraer S.A. has a 12 month low of $12.48 and a 12 month high of $36.02. The company has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18 and a beta of 1.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $30.92 and its 200-day moving average is $27.70.

Embraer (NYSE:ERJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The aerospace company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.20. Embraer had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. Embraer’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Embraer S.A. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ERJ shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Embraer from $28.50 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Embraer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Embraer from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Embraer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $41.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Embraer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.50.

About Embraer

Embraer SA designs, develops, manufactures, and sells aircraft and systems in North America, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Brazil, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Commercial Aviation; Defense & Security; Executive Aviation; Services & Support; and Other segments. The Commercial Aviation segment designs, develops, manufactures, and sells commercial jets, as well as leases aircraft.