Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $59.60.

AL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Lease

In other news, Director Steven F. Udvar-Hazy sold 64,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total transaction of $4,097,280.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 74,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,737,480. The trade was a 46.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John L. Plueger sold 155,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $9,977,218.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 725,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,482,002.23. This represents a 17.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 595,958 shares of company stock worth $38,158,193. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Lease

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 93.4% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 10,809 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 5,219 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in Air Lease by 149.1% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 13,184 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $847,000 after acquiring an additional 7,891 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its position in Air Lease by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 450,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,904,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Air Lease by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 35,349 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,270,000 after acquiring an additional 4,080 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Air Lease in the 4th quarter worth about $936,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Price Performance

Shares of AL stock opened at $64.71 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.69. The company has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. Air Lease has a twelve month low of $38.25 and a twelve month high of $64.96.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $679.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.67 million. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 35.72%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Lease will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued 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 Monday, March 2nd. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.45%.

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.