Franklin Resources Inc. Takes Position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 23,372 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Air Lease in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 5,245.0% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,069 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Lease by 1,506.8% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Air Lease by 679.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,497 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Stock Performance

Shares of AL opened at $42.45 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.77. Air Lease Co. has a 12 month low of $38.25 and a 12 month high of $52.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.34.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.44. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.01% and a net margin of 15.65%. As a group, analysts predict that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut shares of Air Lease from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $50.00 target price on Air Lease in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Lease has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.67.

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.