Air Lease (NYSE:AL) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Cowen downgraded Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $67.00 target price (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Air Lease from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.29.

Air Lease Stock Up 0.1%

AL stock opened at $63.79 on Wednesday. Air Lease has a 52 week low of $38.25 and a 52 week high of $64.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.36.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The transportation company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.05. Air Lease had a return on equity of 7.99% and a net margin of 34.04%.The company had revenue of $725.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $744.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. Air Lease’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Air Lease will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Air Lease news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 5,000 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.57, for a total value of $317,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 141,316 shares in the company, valued at $8,983,458.12. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Beker sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $887,514.10. This trade represents a 26.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Air Lease

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Air Lease by 15.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 409,795 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,083,000 after buying an additional 55,458 shares during the period. Alpine Associates Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,043,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 259,268 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,502,000 after purchasing an additional 7,062 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $628,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Air Lease in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $398,000. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.