Air Lease (NYSE:AL) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

by · The Markets Daily

Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL – Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $64.40 and last traded at $64.3650, with a volume of 198269 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on AL. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Air Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.17.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AL

Air Lease Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.46, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $64.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The transportation company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $725.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $744.59 million. Air Lease had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 35.08%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 4th. Air Lease’s payout ratio is presently 10.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Lease

In other news, Director Steven F. Udvar-Hazy sold 64,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total transaction of $4,097,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 74,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,737,480. This represents a 46.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kishore Korde sold 30,160 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.90, for a total value of $1,927,224.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 79,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,064,905.70. This trade represents a 27.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 760,593 shares of company stock worth $48,668,588. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Lease

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its position in Air Lease by 7.4% during the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 21,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,619,226 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $211,797,000 after purchasing an additional 265,423 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Air Lease by 198.0% in the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 18,666 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 12,402 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in Air Lease during the second quarter worth $230,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Air Lease by 123.6% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,718 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 9,241 shares during the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Lease Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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