Bridgefront Capital LLC Invests $714,000 in Air Lease Corporation $AL

Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new position in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 11,211 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $714,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AL. Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in Air Lease by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 3,415 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Lease by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 3,982 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its stake in shares of Air Lease by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 799 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Lease by 1.9% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,153 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Air Lease by 75.0% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 546 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on AL shares. Zacks Research raised Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.00.

Air Lease Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE AL opened at $64.53 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.46. Air Lease Corporation has a one year low of $38.25 and a one year high of $64.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a PE ratio of 6.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.11.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.74. Air Lease had a net margin of 35.72% and a return on equity of 8.54%. The firm had revenue of $679.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. Air Lease’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

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

Air Lease 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.