Air Lease (NYSE:AL) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $64.81 and last traded at $64.7250, with a volume of 283340 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AL. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised Air Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.17.

Air Lease Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $64.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 6.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.74. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 35.72%.The business had revenue of $679.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Air Lease’s payout ratio is currently 9.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John L. Plueger sold 155,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $9,977,218.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 725,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,482,002.23. This represents a 17.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kishore Korde sold 30,160 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.90, for a total transaction of $1,927,224.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 79,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,064,905.70. This trade represents a 27.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 689,185 shares of company stock worth $44,109,875 over the last three months. 6.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Lease

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Glazer Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Air Lease by 1,253.0% during the fourth quarter. Glazer Capital LLC now owns 2,414,969 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $155,113,000 after buying an additional 2,236,473 shares during the last quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Air Lease during the third quarter valued at $140,030,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Air Lease by 930.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,283,492 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $145,321,000 after acquiring an additional 2,061,817 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Air Lease by 269.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,818,667 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $181,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 3rd quarter valued at about $100,534,000. 94.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Lease Company Profile

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.