Gabelli Funds LLC Acquires 191,111 Shares of Air Lease Corporation $AL

Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) by 149.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 318,880 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 191,111 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $20,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Air Lease in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,910,000. High Ground Investment Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Air Lease during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,957,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Lease during the second quarter valued at approximately $22,986,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Air Lease in the second quarter worth $22,217,000. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in Air Lease by 104.4% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 648,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,938,000 after acquiring an additional 331,291 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE AL opened at $64.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a PE ratio of 6.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $64.51 and its 200 day moving average is $63.79. Air Lease Corporation has a twelve month low of $38.25 and a twelve month high of $64.96. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $782.67 million. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 35.72%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share 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 given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on AL shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Lease news, EVP Kishore Korde sold 20,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $1,324,434.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 50,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,210,833.10. This represents a 29.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Steven F. Udvar-Hazy sold 64,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 542,625 shares of company stock worth $34,743,668 in the last three months. 6.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.