Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $53.80.

AL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Air Lease from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Air Lease from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Air Lease from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Lease news, CEO John L. Plueger sold 19,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.27, for a total value of $768,955.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 859,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,598,091.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Air Lease news, EVP Carol Hyland Forsyte sold 3,046 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $121,900.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 72,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,884,361.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John L. Plueger sold 19,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.27, for a total value of $768,955.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 859,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,598,091.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,646 shares of company stock valued at $3,705,152 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Air Lease

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AL. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in Air Lease during the fourth quarter worth about $869,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Air Lease during the third quarter worth about $1,256,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in Air Lease by 0.6% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 186,241 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,340,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Air Lease by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 722,143 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,287,000 after buying an additional 38,302 shares during the period. Finally, Ellis Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Air Lease by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 72,256 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,030,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of AL opened at $51.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.63. Air Lease has a 12-month low of $33.33 and a 12-month high of $52.31. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The transportation company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $663.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $677.26 million. Air Lease had a net margin of 22.89% and a return on equity of 8.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Lease will post 6.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.31%.

Air Lease Company Profile

Air Lease Corporation, an aircraft leasing company, engages in the purchase and leasing of commercial jet aircraft to airlines worldwide. It sells aircraft from its fleet to third parties, including other leasing companies, financial services companies, airlines, and other investors. The company provides fleet management services to investors and owners of aircraft portfolios.