Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) is Gagnon Securities LLC’s Largest Position

Gagnon Securities LLC increased its stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 734,867 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,223 shares during the quarter. Air Lease makes up about 7.1% of Gagnon Securities LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Gagnon Securities LLC owned 0.66% of Air Lease worth $35,428,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the third quarter worth $18,289,000. Highland Peak Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the third quarter worth $7,066,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 6.8% during the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,543,756 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $69,917,000 after buying an additional 98,755 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 109.0% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 161,127 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,297,000 after buying an additional 84,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 2.5% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 2,875,522 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $130,232,000 after buying an additional 70,299 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Air Lease from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.60.

Air Lease Stock Down 0.6 %

AL stock opened at $46.22 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $48.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. Air Lease Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.35 and a fifty-two week high of $52.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.61.

Air Lease Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. This is a positive change from Air Lease’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.05%.

About Air Lease

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.