Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.1667.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AL shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down previously from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research raised Air Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Air Lease Stock Up 0.0%

AL stock opened at $64.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.44, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42. Air Lease has a twelve month low of $38.25 and a twelve month high of $64.40. The company’s 50 day moving average is $64.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.89.

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

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 4th. Air Lease’s payout ratio is 10.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Lease

In other Air Lease news, EVP Kishore Korde sold 20,662 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total transaction of $1,324,434.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 50,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,210,833.10. This trade represents a 29.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 1,000 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $64,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,206 shares in the company, valued at $8,822,345.80. This trade represents a 0.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 760,593 shares of company stock valued at $48,668,588 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Lease

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 21.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 50,569 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,443,000 after acquiring an additional 9,056 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Air Lease by 1,675.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 204,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,855,000 after purchasing an additional 192,508 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Air Lease by 493.5% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 8,884 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 7,387 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Air Lease by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 326,717 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $15,784,000 after purchasing an additional 15,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Air Lease by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 298,275 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,410,000 after purchasing an additional 41,912 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

About Air Lease

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.