Brokerages Set Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) Target Price at $57.43

Shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $57.43.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AL shares. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Lease from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $72.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group set a $50.00 price objective on Air Lease in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th.

Air Lease Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of AL stock traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $57.08. The company had a trading volume of 674,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 786,836. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.88 and a 200 day moving average of $48.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.33. Air Lease has a 1-year low of $38.25 and a 1-year high of $59.27.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The transportation company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $738.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.70 million. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.01% and a net margin of 15.65%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Lease will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.38%.

Insider Activity at Air Lease

In other news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 10,000 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.85, for a total value of $568,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 146,316 shares in the company, valued at $8,318,064.60. This trade represents a 6.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Lease

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Air Lease by 0.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,592,510 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $318,479,000 after acquiring an additional 31,274 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Air Lease by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,453,859 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $263,476,000 after purchasing an additional 69,629 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Air Lease by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,025,421 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $242,778,000 after purchasing an additional 60,216 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Lease by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,563,297 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $172,143,000 after purchasing an additional 336,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $162,492,000 after buying an additional 553,080 shares during the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.