California Public Employees Retirement System Has $8.27 Million Holdings in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 197,196 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $8,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in Air Lease by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 115,558 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,847,000 after acquiring an additional 3,074 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in Air Lease by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,420,054 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $59,557,000 after purchasing an additional 133,195 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Air Lease by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,599 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new position in Air Lease in the 4th quarter valued at about $493,000. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $425,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Price Performance

AL stock opened at $51.41 on Friday. Air Lease Co. has a 1 year low of $33.33 and a 1 year high of $52.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.31.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The transportation company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $716.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 19.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Air Lease Co. will post 6.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carol Hyland Forsyte sold 3,046 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $121,900.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,884,361.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Carol Hyland Forsyte sold 3,046 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $121,900.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,073 shares in the company, valued at $2,884,361.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alex A. Khatibi sold 11,198 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.11, for a total value of $482,745.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,499 shares in the company, valued at $3,772,081.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,646 shares of company stock valued at $3,705,152 over the last quarter. 6.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AL shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Air Lease from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Air Lease from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.25.

Air Lease Profile

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.