AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,098,280 shares, a decrease of 21.0% from the January 15th total of 1,390,906 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 413,816 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 413,816 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Transactions at AAR

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Jessup sold 23,621 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.05, for a total value of $2,292,418.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 65,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,382,881.45. This represents a 26.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.50, for a total transaction of $2,925,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 237,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,113,740. This represents a 11.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 128,984 shares of company stock valued at $12,517,090. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AAR

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 281,871 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in AAR by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,320,927 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $192,150,000 after purchasing an additional 339,595 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in AAR by 144.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,486,775 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $133,319,000 after purchasing an additional 878,188 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AAR by 4.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,208,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $83,153,000 after buying an additional 48,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AAR by 36.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 90.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AAR Price Performance

NYSE AIR traded down $0.26 on Friday, hitting $112.96. The company had a trading volume of 433,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 407,812. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $96.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.32. The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 44.30 and a beta of 1.23. AAR has a 12-month low of $46.51 and a 12-month high of $118.00.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AAR from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Truist Financial set a $107.00 price target on AAR in a research report on Friday, January 9th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on AAR from $93.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on AAR in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $121.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $112.00 price target on AAR and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AAR presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.80.

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.