Earnest Partners LLC Sells 72,189 Shares of AAR Corp. $AIR

Earnest Partners LLC cut its position in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,423,396 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 72,189 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in AAR were worth $127,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of AAR by 144.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,486,775 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $133,319,000 after buying an additional 878,188 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of AAR by 709.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 488,239 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $43,780,000 after buying an additional 427,906 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in AAR by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,154,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $107,752,000 after buying an additional 311,258 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in AAR by 10.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,917,821 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $131,927,000 after acquiring an additional 188,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AAR by 35.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,707 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $57,452,000 after acquiring an additional 166,903 shares in the last quarter. 90.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AIR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded AAR from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on AAR in a report on Monday, January 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $121.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of AAR in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $128.00 target price (up from $107.00) on shares of AAR in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of AAR from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.60.

Insider Transactions at AAR

In other AAR news, CAO Jessica A. Garascia sold 4,787 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.25, for a total transaction of $455,961.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 29,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,815,304.25. This represents a 13.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Christopher A. Jessup sold 23,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.05, for a total transaction of $2,292,418.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 65,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,382,881.45. This represents a 26.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 128,984 shares of company stock worth $12,517,090. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AAR Stock Performance

AIR opened at $101.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.97 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $108.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.72. AAR Corp. has a 1 year low of $46.51 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 6th. The aerospace company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $795.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $760.95 million. AAR had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 3.17%.AAR’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that AAR Corp. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal 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.