Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 16,800 AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,800 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in AAR by 56.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 957 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of AAR by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 6,541 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AAR by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 14,566 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $909,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in shares of AAR during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AAR by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,376 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AAR

In related news, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 29,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total value of $1,761,142.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 303,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,281,020.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Jessica A. Garascia sold 7,352 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.37, for a total value of $465,896.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 28,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,784,816.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 29,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total value of $1,761,142.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 303,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,281,020.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 64,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,858,323. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. William Blair assumed coverage on AAR in a report on Monday, January 29th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Benchmark increased their price target on AAR from $65.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of AAR in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.25.

AAR Price Performance

Shares of AIR opened at $67.99 on Thursday. AAR Corp. has a 12-month low of $50.06 and a 12-month high of $73.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $63.59 and its 200 day moving average is $63.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.99 and a beta of 1.67.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The aerospace company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.01. AAR had a return on equity of 10.17% and a net margin of 2.73%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AAR Corp. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AAR Company Profile

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.