AAR Corp (AIR) Hits 52-Week High On Strong Market Position

Shares of AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) scaled a new 52-week high of $31.77 in Wednesday’s trading session before closing at $31.69.The stock has delivered a one-year return of about 48.6%.

Over the past 52 weeks, AAR Corp.’s shares have ranged from a low of $18.36 on Feb 11, 2016 to a high of $31.77 on Oct 5, 2016. The average volume of shares traded over the last three months is 253,729.

What’s Driving the Stock?

Rising air traffic, attributable to increased business activities, is expected to accelerate maintenance spending on aircraft significantly, thereby propelling the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (“MRO”) services growth cycle. Presently, AAR Corp. is the largest independent MRO provider in North America. The company expects its supply chain to see strong growth and continued demand in the MRO businesses driven by its solid foothold in the global aviation services market.

In fiscal 2017, the company expects Aviation Services to benefit from its strong position in the growing global aviation market. The company expects to see favorable order trends from commercial customers and government for comprehensive supply chain and maintenance programs, as these customers continue to devise new ways to reduce their operating cost structure.

During first-quarter fiscal 2017, Aviation Services segment bagged an impressive number of contracts. It was awarded a few contracts from Enter Air and Flydubai for power-by-the-hour module inventory management and repair services for over 70 737-series aircraft.

Moreover, AAR Corp. has entered into an agreement with Asiana Airlines to provide services for landing gear repair at its Miami Landing Gear facility. The company has clinched another contract from CommutAir for component repair and supply chain services for the latter’s fleet of 40 ERJ 145s.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

AAR Corp. sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Other favorably placed stocks in the same space include Ducommun Inc. (NYSE:DCO) , CAE Inc. (TO:CAE) and Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD) .

Ducommun, another Zacks Rank #1 stock, has seen one upward estimate revision for 2016 over the last 60 days.

CAE has witnessed four upward estimate revisions for fiscal 2017 over the last 60 days. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Aerojet Rocketdyne has seen one upward estimate revision for 2016 over the last 60 days. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2.

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