Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) Short Interest Down 12.2% in May

Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,100,000 shares, a decline of 12.2% from the April 30th total of 3,530,000 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Lease

In other Air Lease news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.85, for a total value of $568,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 146,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,318,064.60. The trade was a 6.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Air Lease

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Air Lease in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,758,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Lease by 264.1% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 892 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in shares of Air Lease during the first quarter worth approximately $203,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Lease by 16.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 298,275 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $14,410,000 after purchasing an additional 41,912 shares during the period. Finally, United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of Air Lease during the first quarter worth approximately $330,000. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Air Lease Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE AL traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $57.65. 647,916 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 789,552. The business's 50-day moving average is $50.07 and its 200-day moving average is $48.62. Air Lease has a twelve month low of $38.25 and a twelve month high of $59.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio is 15.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group set a $50.00 price objective on Air Lease in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America cut Air Lease from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.43.

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.