Aircastle Limited (AYR) Holdings Trimmed by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank reduced its stake in shares of Aircastle Limited (NYSE:AYR) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 143,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,382 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Aircastle were worth $2,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strs Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Aircastle by 203.5% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 43,700 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 29,300 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Aircastle by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 412,259 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,033,000 after purchasing an additional 5,195 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aircastle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,292,000. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aircastle by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,812,739 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,717,000 after purchasing an additional 131,275 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Aircastle by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 749,590 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,423,000 after purchasing an additional 166,997 shares during the period. 58.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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In related news, insider Michael Kriedberg sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.45, for a total transaction of $715,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 180,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,700,795.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AYR stock opened at $19.81 on Friday. Aircastle Limited has a twelve month low of $15.75 and a twelve month high of $23.14. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.38 and a beta of 1.74.

Aircastle (NYSE:AYR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.01. Aircastle had a return on equity of 12.57% and a net margin of 27.77%. The company had revenue of $292.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $282.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aircastle Limited will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.06%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 27th. Aircastle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.85%.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. ValuEngine cut Aircastle from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays set a $22.00 target price on Aircastle and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 14th. TheStreet cut Aircastle from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Friday, December 28th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Aircastle from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 23rd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group lowered their target price on Aircastle from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.71.

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About Aircastle

Aircastle Limited, through its subsidiaries, leases, finances, sells, and manages commercial flight equipment to airlines worldwide. The company also invests in other aviation assets. As of December 31, 2017, its aircraft portfolio comprised 236 aircraft leased to 81 lessees located in 43 countries. Aircastle Limited was founded in 2004 and is based in Stamford, Connecticut.

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