Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Has $1.73 Million Stock Holdings in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL – Get Rating) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,097 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $1,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AL. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Air Lease by 141.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,714,362 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $165,846,000 after purchasing an additional 2,175,100 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 36.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,446,382 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $243,180,000 after buying an additional 1,460,769 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the first quarter worth approximately $58,077,000. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 550.9% during the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,019,288 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,511,000 after buying an additional 862,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP increased its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,365,349 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $52,457,000 after buying an additional 271,810 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Price Performance

Shares of AL stock opened at $38.82 on Friday. Air Lease Co. has a 52-week low of $29.75 and a 52-week high of $46.20. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.75.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 16th. The transportation company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.16. Air Lease had a net margin of 21.25% and a return on equity of 7.60%. The firm had revenue of $601.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $598.62 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Air Lease Co. will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 6th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 5th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Air Lease’s payout ratio is presently 19.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Air Lease in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Credit Suisse Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Monday, May 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $41.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.75.

About Air Lease

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Air Lease Corp. engages in the provision of aircraft leasing business. It focuses on purchasing new commercial jet transport aircraft directly from aircraft manufacturers, and leasing those aircraft to airlines throughout the world with the intention to generate attractive returns on equity. The company was founded by Steven F.