Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.67.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut Air Lease from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $50.00 target price on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Air Lease Price Performance

Shares of AL opened at $53.74 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.33. Air Lease has a fifty-two week low of $38.25 and a fifty-two week high of $54.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37.

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

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Lease

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Air Lease in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Air Lease during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Air Lease in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Air Lease in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 88.1% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 743 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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