Virtus Advisers LLC Invests $1.39 Million in AAR Corp. $AIR

Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 9,694 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,386,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AIR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AAR by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,061,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $336,229,000 after buying an additional 281,871 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AAR by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 61,619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,101,000 after acquiring an additional 11,300 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in shares of AAR in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,230,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AAR in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,630,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of AAR by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 90,749 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $9,933,000 after acquiring an additional 15,345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut AAR from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of AAR in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of AAR from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AAR from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AAR from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.60.

AAR Price Performance

NYSE AIR opened at $132.80 on Friday. AAR Corp. has a twelve month low of $71.73 and a twelve month high of $154.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a PE ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.77.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $928.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $893.03 million. AAR had a return on equity of 12.67% and a net margin of 5.67%.The company’s revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AAR Corp. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

About AAR

AAR Corp. (NYSE: AIR) is a global provider of aviation products and services to commercial, government and defense customers. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) solutions, component repair and overhaul, and engineering services designed to support a wide variety of fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. Leveraging FAA and EASA certifications, AAR delivers turnkey maintenance programs and ad hoc repair services that enhance aircraft availability and reliability.

In its Aviation Supply Chain Services segment, AAR sources, stores and distributes parts for both commercial airlines and military operators.