Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from five brokerages, with an average twelve-month price target of $59.50.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, scheduled to be paid on October 8th, with a yield of 1.5%.
• Air Lease reported $1.40 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and showed a 9.7% year-over-year revenue growth.

Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.50.

AL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 price target (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup raised shares of Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $45.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th.

Air Lease Price Performance

AL stock traded down $0.4850 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $57.6150. The company's stock had a trading volume of 709,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 842,264. The stock has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of 6.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. Air Lease has a fifty-two week low of $38.25 and a fifty-two week high of $60.41. The company's 50 day moving average is $57.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.89.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $731.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $723.35 million. Air Lease had a net margin of 34.04% and a return on equity of 7.99%. Air Lease's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Air Lease will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio is 10.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Lease

In other news, EVP David Beker sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.44, for a total value of $110,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,096,048.80. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Air Lease

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 152.4% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 588 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 273.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 556 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Engine Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 88.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 743 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

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.