Arizona State Retirement System Sells 543 Shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Arizona State Retirement System decreased its position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,486 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 543 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $1,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Air Lease by 2.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,709,215 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $301,082,000 after purchasing an additional 194,211 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 1.6% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,763,177 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $257,324,000 after acquiring an additional 90,225 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 valued at $243,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460,769 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 3.5% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,542,411 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $178,834,000 after acquiring an additional 151,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 141.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,714,362 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $165,846,000 after acquiring an additional 2,175,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Lease news, EVP Kishore Korde sold 16,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.70, for a total value of $658,742.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 112,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,461,287.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO John L. Plueger sold 19,095 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.27, for a total transaction of $768,955.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 859,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,598,091.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kishore Korde sold 16,593 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.70, for a total value of $658,742.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 112,375 shares in the company, valued at $4,461,287.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 89,646 shares of company stock valued at $3,705,152. Insiders own 6.64% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Price Performance

NYSE AL opened at $48.55 on Monday. Air Lease Co. has a one year low of $33.33 and a one year high of $51.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $45.10 and a 200 day moving average of $41.02. The company has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The transportation company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $716.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $672.95 million. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.87% and a net margin of 22.89%. Air Lease’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Lease Co. will post 5.64 EPS for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. Air Lease’s payout ratio is 16.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AL has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Air Lease from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Air Lease from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Lease has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

About Air Lease

Air Lease Corporation, an aircraft leasing company, engages in the purchase and leasing of commercial jet aircraft to airlines worldwide. It sells aircraft from its fleet to third parties, including other leasing companies, financial services companies, airlines, and other investors. The company provides fleet management services to investors and owners of aircraft portfolios.