Air Lease (NYSE:AL) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $64.92 and last traded at $64.8550, with a volume of 199 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AL. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.60.

Air Lease Stock Down 0.1%

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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $64.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.13.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $679.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.67 million. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 35.72%.Air Lease’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend 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 9.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven F. Udvar-Hazy sold 64,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total transaction of $4,097,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 74,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,737,480. This trade represents a 46.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,210,833.10. This trade represents a 29.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 595,958 shares of company stock worth $38,158,193. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Air Lease

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