First Eagle Investment Management LLC Has $4.35 Million Stock Position in Air Lease Corporation $AL

First Eagle Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,331 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 172,046 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Air Lease worth $4,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AL. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Air Lease during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Lease by 2,980.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 462 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of Air Lease in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 129.6% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 528 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 75.0% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 546 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Lease

In related news, CEO John L. Plueger sold 155,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $9,977,218.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 725,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,482,002.23. This represents a 17.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven F. Udvar-Hazy sold 64,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total value of $4,097,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 74,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,737,480. This represents a 46.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 595,958 shares of company stock worth $38,158,193 over the last three months. 6.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Lease presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.60.

Air Lease Stock Down 0.0%

AL stock opened at $64.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.70. Air Lease Corporation has a 1-year low of $38.25 and a 1-year high of $64.96.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $679.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.67 million. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 35.72%.The business’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. Analysts expect that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Air Lease’s payout ratio is currently 9.45%.

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.