Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Holdings in StandardAero, Inc. $SARO

Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in StandardAero, Inc. (NYSE:SARO) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 424,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,956,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of StandardAero as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in StandardAero by 0.6% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 69,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,208,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of StandardAero during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of StandardAero by 46.4% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 1,428 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in StandardAero by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 43,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after buying an additional 1,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its stake in StandardAero by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 11,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 1,860 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Russell Wayne Ford sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.44, for a total value of $1,217,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,822,910.20. The trade was a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SARO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of StandardAero in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $31.00 price objective on StandardAero in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group raised StandardAero from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on StandardAero from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on StandardAero in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, StandardAero currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

StandardAero Stock Performance

NYSE:SARO opened at $28.73 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.34 and its 200-day moving average is $28.15. StandardAero, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.83 and a 52-week high of $34.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.12. The company has a market cap of $9.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.65 and a beta of 0.91.

StandardAero (NYSE:SARO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. StandardAero had a net margin of 4.71% and a return on equity of 12.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. StandardAero has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.400-1.500 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that StandardAero, Inc. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

About StandardAero

StandardAero is a global aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider specializing in gas turbine engines, auxiliary power units (APUs), airframe components and oil & gas rotating equipment. The company offers a full suite of technical services including engine repair and overhaul, component repair, accessory maintenance, parts manufacturing and on-site field support. Its customer base spans commercial airlines, business and general aviation operators, regional carriers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and defense organizations.

With roots dating back to 1911, StandardAero has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest independent MRO providers in the industry.