Millennium Management LLC Trims Stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Millennium Management LLC cut its stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 94.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,492 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 207,512 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Air Lease during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Engine Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Air Lease in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 5,245.0% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,069 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 1,506.8% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Air Lease

In other news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.85, for a total value of $568,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 146,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,318,064.60. This trade represents a 6.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup upgraded Air Lease from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $68.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America cut shares of Air Lease from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Air Lease in a report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Lease presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.43.

Air Lease Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Air Lease stock opened at $57.65 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Air Lease Co. has a 1-year low of $38.25 and a 1-year high of $59.27. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $50.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.61.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The transportation company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $738.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.70 million. Air Lease had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 8.01%. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Air Lease’s payout ratio is 15.38%.

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.