Air Lease (NYSE:AL) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $64.81 and last traded at $64.7250, with a volume of 283340 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $64.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Air Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays restated 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Lease has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.17.

Air Lease Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 6.95, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $2.20 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $679.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. Air Lease’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Air Lease

In related news, Director Steven F. Udvar-Hazy sold 64,000 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total value of $4,097,280.00. Following the sale, the director owned 74,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,737,480. The trade was a 46.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kishore Korde sold 30,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.90, for a total transaction of $1,927,224.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 79,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,064,905.70. The trade was a 27.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 689,185 shares of company stock worth $44,109,875 over the last quarter. 6.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Air Lease

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Air Lease by 198.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 18,666 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 12,402 shares during the last quarter. High Ground Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Air Lease in the third quarter worth $34,957,000. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Lease in the second quarter worth $7,473,000. Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Lease during the third quarter valued at $1,050,000. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the second quarter valued at $402,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Company Profile

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.