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

Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $59.27 and last traded at $58.04, with a volume of 1456059 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $57.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup raised shares of Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group set a $50.00 target price on Air Lease in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Lease from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $72.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.43.

Air Lease Trading Down 0.4%

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $48.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.98. 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 cap of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.33.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.01% and a net margin of 15.65%. The firm had revenue of $738.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $709.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Air Lease's payout ratio is 15.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.85, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Lease

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AL. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Air Lease in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Engine Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Air Lease in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 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.