CAE (NYSE:CAE) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

CAE Inc. (NYSE:CAE) (TSE:CAE) gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $23.51, but opened at $25.00. CAE shares last traded at $26.77, with a volume of 384,357 shares traded.

The aerospace company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.01. CAE had a positive return on equity of 5.79% and a negative net margin of 7.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CAE shares. Desjardins upgraded shares of CAE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. National Bank Financial cut shares of CAE from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of CAE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Cibc World Mkts lowered CAE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded CAE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CAE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CAE. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of CAE by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 107,212 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,721,000 after acquiring an additional 7,410 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CAE by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 172,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,337,000 after purchasing an additional 50,311 shares during the period. Natixis acquired a new position in shares of CAE in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Ossiam raised its stake in shares of CAE by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 46,220 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of CAE during the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. 67.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CAE Trading Up 13.7 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.98 and a 200 day moving average of $20.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a PE ratio of -34.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.72.

About CAE

CAE Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides simulation training and critical operations support solutions in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, the Oceania, Africa, and Rest of the Americas. It operates through two segments, Civil Aviation; and Defense and Security. The Civil Aviation segment offers training solutions for flight, cabin, maintenance, and ground personnel in commercial, business, and helicopter aviation; a range of flight simulation training devices; and ab initio pilot training and crew sourcing services, as well as aircraft flight operations solutions.