Gabelli Funds LLC Buys 191,111 Shares of Air Lease Corporation $AL

Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) by 149.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 318,880 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 191,111 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.29% of Air Lease worth $20,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AL has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.00.

Air Lease Stock Down 0.1%

AL opened at $64.52 on Friday. Air Lease Corporation has a 12 month low of $38.25 and a 12 month high of $64.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $64.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.79. The company has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.11.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $679.54 million during 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%.Air Lease’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Air Lease

In related news, Director Steven F. Udvar-Hazy sold 64,000 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 74,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,737,480. The trade was a 46.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John L. Plueger sold 155,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $9,977,218.63. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 725,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,482,002.23. This represents a 17.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 542,625 shares of company stock worth $34,743,668. Insiders own 6.64% of the company’s stock.

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.