Short Interest in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) Grows By 23.1%

Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,323,331 shares, an increase of 23.1% from the December 31st total of 1,886,809 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,480,845 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,480,845 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Lease news, Director Steven F. Udvar-Hazy sold 64,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total transaction of $4,097,280.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 74,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,737,480. This trade represents a 46.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John L. Plueger sold 155,821 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $9,977,218.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 725,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,482,002.23. This trade represents a 17.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 760,593 shares of company stock worth $48,668,588. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Lease

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 21,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Air Lease by 7.9% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,619,226 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $211,797,000 after purchasing an additional 265,423 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Air Lease by 198.0% in the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 18,666 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 12,402 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Air Lease by 123.6% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,718 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 9,241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Air Lease during the second quarter worth approximately $7,473,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Price Performance

AL stock opened at $64.65 on Wednesday. Air Lease has a 52-week low of $38.25 and a 52-week high of $64.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42. The stock has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average of $64.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.54.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed 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 “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, 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 research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Lease currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.17.

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.