Air Lease (NYSE:AL) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on AL. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Lease currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.60.

Air Lease Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE AL traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $64.82. The company had a trading volume of 989,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,511,373. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $64.38 and its 200 day moving average is $63.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.46. Air Lease has a fifty-two week low of $38.25 and a fifty-two week high of $64.85. The company has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Insider Activity at Air Lease

In other news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $64,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,822,345.80. This represents a 0.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kishore Korde sold 20,662 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total transaction of $1,324,434.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 50,091 shares in the company, valued at $3,210,833.10. The trade was a 29.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 641,418 shares of company stock valued at $41,062,322 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Glazer Capital LLC raised its stake in Air Lease by 1,253.0% during the fourth quarter. Glazer Capital LLC now owns 2,414,969 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $155,113,000 after acquiring an additional 2,236,473 shares during the period. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Air Lease during the third quarter valued at approximately $140,030,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 930.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,283,492 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $145,321,000 after purchasing an additional 2,061,817 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Air Lease by 269.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,818,667 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $181,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056,637 shares during the period. Finally, HBK Investments L P lifted its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 67.4% in the 4th quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 4,602,260 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $295,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852,260 shares during the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.