Air Lease (NYSE:AL) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Air Lease (NYSE:AL) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Lease presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.17.

Air Lease Stock Performance

AL opened at $64.24 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.71. Air Lease has a 1 year low of $38.25 and a 1 year high of $64.40. The stock has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The transportation company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $725.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $744.59 million. Air Lease had a net margin of 35.08% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Air Lease will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. Air Lease’s payout ratio is presently 10.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Lease news, Director Steven F. Udvar-Hazy sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.12, for a total transaction of $1,218,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,391,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,214,387.92. This represents a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kishore Korde sold 20,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $1,324,434.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 50,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,210,833.10. This trade represents a 29.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 760,593 shares of company stock worth $48,668,588. Corporate insiders own 6.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Lease

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Air Lease by 2,980.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 462 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Air Lease in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 273.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 556 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Air Lease by 129.6% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 528 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Company Profile

Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL) is a leading aircraft leasing company that acquires commercial jet aircraft and leases them to airlines worldwide. The firm’s core business activities include direct aircraft acquisition, lease management and portfolio remarketing. By structuring sale‐and‐leaseback transactions, operating leases and secured loans, Air Lease provides flexible financing solutions that enable carriers to modernize their fleets without committing large amounts of capital to ownership.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Air Lease Corporation serves a diverse customer base spanning North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.