Earnest Partners LLC Buys 155,665 Shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,269,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 155,665 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned approximately 2.04% of Air Lease worth $107,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its position in Air Lease by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 18,776 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $966,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 1.4% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 21,757 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,119,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 1,350 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in Air Lease by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 26,856 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Air Lease by 16.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,111 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Air Lease in a research report on Monday, July 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Air Lease from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Air Lease from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.75.

Air Lease Price Performance

AL opened at $45.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.20. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.07, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.59. Air Lease Co. has a 12-month low of $33.33 and a 12-month high of $52.31.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The transportation company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.41). Air Lease had a net margin of 20.85% and a return on equity of 8.97%. The business had revenue of $667.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.93 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Lease Co. will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.94%.

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.