Air Lease (NYSE:AL) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $64.96 and last traded at $64.9550, with a volume of 865512 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.00.

Air Lease Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.98, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.18.

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

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Air Lease in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 2,980.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 462 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Air Lease in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Air Lease by 129.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 528 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.