Air Lease’s (AL) “Buy (B)” Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings reaffirmed their buy (b) rating on shares of Air Lease (NYSE:AL) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AL. TD Cowen lowered Air Lease from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Cowen lowered Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.29.

Air Lease Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of AL opened at $63.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Air Lease has a 1 year low of $38.25 and a 1 year high of $64.30.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $731.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $723.35 million. Air Lease had a return on equity of 7.99% and a net margin of 34.04%.Air Lease’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Air Lease will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 3rd. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.57, for a total transaction of $317,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 141,316 shares in the company, valued at $8,983,458.12. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Beker sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.53, for a total value of $317,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $887,514.10. This represents a 26.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $746,380. 6.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Lease

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AL. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Air Lease during the second quarter valued at approximately $71,910,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 19.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,353,803 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $162,492,000 after acquiring an additional 553,080 shares in the last quarter. M3F Inc. bought a new position in Air Lease in the first quarter worth $19,776,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Air Lease in the second quarter worth $22,986,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in Air Lease in the second quarter worth $22,217,000. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Company Profile

Air Lease Corporation, an aircraft leasing company, engages in the purchase and leasing of commercial jet aircraft to airlines worldwide. It sells aircraft from its fleet to third parties, including other leasing companies, financial services companies, airlines, and other investors. The company provides fleet management services to investors and owners of aircraft portfolios.