Burren Capital Advisors Ltd Acquires New Shares in Air Lease Corporation $AL

Burren Capital Advisors Ltd bought a new stake in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 54,421 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,464,000. Air Lease accounts for about 9.8% of Burren Capital Advisors Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Air Lease by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 50,569 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,443,000 after acquiring an additional 9,056 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Air Lease by 1,675.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 204,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,855,000 after purchasing an additional 192,508 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Air Lease by 493.5% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 8,884 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 7,387 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Air Lease by 5.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 326,717 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $15,784,000 after acquiring an additional 15,629 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Air Lease by 16.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 298,275 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,410,000 after purchasing an additional 41,912 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Price Performance

AL opened at $64.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.51. Air Lease Corporation has a one year low of $38.25 and a one year high of $64.96.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.74. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 35.72%.The firm had revenue of $679.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.67 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 1,000 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $64,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,206 shares in the company, valued at $8,822,345.80. The trade was a 0.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven F. Udvar-Hazy sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.12, for a total value of $1,218,280.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,391,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,214,387.92. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 595,958 shares of company stock valued at $38,158,193. 6.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AL. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.60.

Air Lease 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.