Air Lease (NYSE:AL) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Air Lease Corporation shares reached a new 52-week high of $64.08 during trading, reflecting strong investor interest and increased trading volume.
• Analysts show a bullish outlook, with Barclays raising its price target to $67.00 and Citigroup increasing their target to $68.00, while maintaining a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22, indicating a 1.4% dividend yield for investors, alongside significant earnings growth with quarterly EPS at $1.40, exceeding estimates.

Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $64.08 and last traded at $64.06, with a volume of 1182457 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 price target (up from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $68.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Lease has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.50.

Air Lease Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 7.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $57.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.75.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. Air Lease had a return on equity of 7.99% and a net margin of 34.04%.The business had revenue of $731.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $723.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. Air Lease's payout ratio is presently 10.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Lease news, EVP David Beker sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.44, for a total transaction of $110,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Air Lease

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Air Lease by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 14,793 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Air Lease by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 10,410 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Air Lease during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $348,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Air Lease during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,347,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Air Lease by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 45,244 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,186,000 after acquiring an additional 4,601 shares during the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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