Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 2,794,359 Shares of Air Lease Corporation $AL

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) by 77.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 824,867 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,794,359 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $52,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AL. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Air Lease by 0.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,459,048 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $203,084,000 after purchasing an additional 28,227 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Air Lease by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,235,262 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,250,000 after buying an additional 48,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Air Lease during the second quarter valued at approximately $71,910,000. Gagnon Securities LLC raised its position in Air Lease by 0.7% during the second quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 736,437 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $43,074,000 after acquiring an additional 5,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 104.4% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 648,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,938,000 after acquiring an additional 331,291 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.50.

Air Lease Stock Performance

Shares of AL stock opened at $64.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.45 and a beta of 1.15. Air Lease Corporation has a 52 week low of $38.25 and a 52 week high of $64.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.46.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The transportation company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.13. Air Lease had a net margin of 35.08% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The business had revenue of $725.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $744.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 4th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.20%.

Insider Transactions at Air Lease

In related news, Director Steven F. Udvar-Hazy sold 64,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total value of $4,097,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 74,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,737,480. This trade represents a 46.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kishore Korde sold 30,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.90, for a total transaction of $1,927,224.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 79,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,064,905.70. This represents a 27.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 760,593 shares of company stock worth $48,668,588. 6.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Air Lease Company Profile

Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL) is a leading aircraft leasing company that acquires commercial jet aircraft and leases them to airlines worldwide. The firm’s core business activities include direct aircraft acquisition, lease management and portfolio remarketing. By structuring sale‐and‐leaseback transactions, operating leases and secured loans, Air Lease provides flexible financing solutions that enable carriers to modernize their fleets without committing large amounts of capital to ownership.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Air Lease Corporation serves a diverse customer base spanning North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.