Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $66.00.

AL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 price target (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th.

Air Lease Price Performance

NYSE:AL opened at $65.00 on Thursday. Air Lease has a 52 week low of $38.25 and a 52 week high of $65.00. The firm has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.31. 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 (NYSE:AL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.74. Air Lease had a net margin of 35.72% and a return on equity of 8.54%. The business had revenue of $679.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Air Lease’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Air Lease will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Lease

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Air Lease during the third quarter worth about $1,284,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its stake in Air Lease by 585.9% during the third quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 167,825 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,682,000 after buying an additional 143,357 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Air Lease during the third quarter worth about $1,050,000. High Ground Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in Air Lease during the third quarter worth about $34,957,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in Air Lease by 60.7% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 60,282 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,837,000 after buying an additional 22,775 shares in the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.