Legato Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in AAR Corp. $AIR

Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) by 69.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,585 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 7,613 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AAR were worth $1,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its holdings in AAR by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 15,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,275,000 after buying an additional 1,309 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AAR by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $630,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the period. Wisconsin Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in AAR by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Wisconsin Capital Management LLC now owns 72,385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,993,000 after buying an additional 5,564 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in AAR by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 76,590 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,341,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the period. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in AAR during the fourth quarter worth $1,526,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.74% of the company’s stock.

AAR Stock Performance

Shares of AIR stock opened at $108.32 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.41. The company has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.02 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. AAR Corp. has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $127.21.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.04. AAR had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 5.46%.The firm had revenue of $845.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $812.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that AAR Corp. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.41, for a total value of $6,744,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 235,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,423,544.24. This represents a 20.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research downgraded AAR from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on AAR from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on AAR in a research report on Monday, January 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial raised AAR to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on AAR to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.20.

AAR Company Profile

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.