First Eagle Investment Management LLC Reduces Position in Air Lease Corporation $AL

First Eagle Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 68,331 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 172,046 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $4,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Air Lease by 2,980.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 462 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Air Lease during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Lease by 129.6% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 528 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Lease by 75.0% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 546 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Price Performance

NYSE:AL opened at $64.71 on Thursday. Air Lease Corporation has a 52-week low of $38.25 and a 52-week high of $64.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.50 and a 200 day moving average of $63.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.11.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $679.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.67 million. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 35.72%.The company’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd 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 Monday, March 2nd. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Lease

In other news, EVP Kishore Korde sold 20,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total transaction of $1,324,434.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 50,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,210,833.10. This trade represents a 29.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 1,000 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $64,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,822,345.80. This represents a 0.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 595,958 shares of company stock worth $38,158,193 over the last three months. 6.64% of the stock is owned by 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.