Air Lease (NYSE:AL) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• New 52‑week high: Air Lease (AL) traded as high as $65.00 on Wednesday with ~2.29M shares changing hands, trading near its 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages and carrying a consensus analyst rating of Moderate Buy with a $66 price target.
• Earnings beat but revenue missed: AL reported Q earnings of $2.20 EPS (vs. $1.46 est.) while revenue of $679.5M fell short of estimates, and the stock trades at a low P/E of 6.98 with a 35.7% net margin.
• Shareholder returns and leverage: the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.22 (annualized $0.88, ~1.4% yield) but has a relatively high debt‑to‑equity ratio of 2.33 and ~94.6% institutional ownership.

Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $65.00 and last traded at $64.9950, with a volume of 2290001 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AL. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Lease currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.00.

Air Lease Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $64.72 and its 200-day moving average is $64.20. The firm has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.74. Air Lease had a net margin of 35.72% and a return on equity of 8.54%. The business had revenue of $679.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. Air Lease's revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Air Lease's payout ratio is 9.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Lease

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AL. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Air Lease by 2,980.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 462 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Air Lease in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Air Lease in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Air Lease in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Air Lease by 129.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 528 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Air Lease Company Profile

Air Lease Corporation NYSE: AL is a leading aircraft leasing company that acquires commercial jet aircraft and leases them to airlines worldwide. The firm's core business activities include direct aircraft acquisition, lease management and portfolio remarketing. By structuring sale‐and‐leaseback transactions, operating leases and secured loans, Air Lease provides flexible financing solutions that enable carriers to modernize their fleets without committing large amounts of capital to ownership.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Air Lease Corporation serves a diverse customer base spanning North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

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