Air Lease Corporation $AL Shares Purchased by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) by 60.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,282 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,775 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd owned approximately 0.05% of Air Lease worth $3,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Air Lease by 0.6% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,591,387 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $419,540,000 after acquiring an additional 41,975 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Air Lease by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,459,048 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $203,084,000 after purchasing an additional 28,227 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Lease by 930.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,283,492 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $145,321,000 after purchasing an additional 2,061,817 shares in the last quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $140,030,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $100,534,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Stock Up 0.1%

AL stock opened at $64.66 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.06. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.95, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.11. Air Lease Corporation has a one year low of $38.25 and a one year high of $64.96.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $679.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid 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 presently 9.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AL shares. Zacks Research upgraded Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.00.

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.