Royce & Associates LP Has $23.47 Million Position in Air Lease Corporation $AL

Royce & Associates LP cut its stake in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) by 74.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 368,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,079,144 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.33% of Air Lease worth $23,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Air Lease by 21.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 50,569 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,443,000 after purchasing an additional 9,056 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Air Lease by 1,675.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 204,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,855,000 after buying an additional 192,508 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 493.5% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 8,884 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 7,387 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 326,717 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $15,784,000 after acquiring an additional 15,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Air Lease by 16.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 298,275 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $14,410,000 after acquiring an additional 41,912 shares during the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.60.

Air Lease Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AL opened at $64.87 on Monday. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $38.25 and a 52 week high of $64.96. The firm has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a PE ratio of 6.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $64.47 and its 200-day moving average is $63.59.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.74. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 35.72%.The firm had revenue of $679.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 1,000 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $64,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,822,345.80. This trade represents a 0.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kishore Korde sold 20,662 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $1,324,434.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 50,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,210,833.10. This trade represents a 29.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 595,958 shares of company stock worth $38,158,193. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

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.