Air Lease (NYSE:AL) Sees Large Volume Increase - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Air Lease Corporation experienced a significant increase in trading volume, with nearly 3.9 million shares traded, marking a 281% rise from the previous day.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Air Lease, with Citigroup upgrading the stock to a "buy" rating and raising the price target to $68, while others like TD Cowen downgraded it to "hold".
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $1.40, exceeding estimates, along with a revenue of $731.7 million, reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.7%.

Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 3,856,753 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 281% from the previous session's volume of 1,013,186 shares.The stock last traded at $63.54 and had previously closed at $63.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on AL shares. 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 report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cowen lowered shares of Air Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 price target (up from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Air Lease from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Air Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.29.

Air Lease Trading Down 0.0%

The company's fifty day moving average is $59.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Beker sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.53, for a total transaction of $317,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at $887,514.10. This trade represents a 26.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.57, for a total transaction of $317,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 141,316 shares in the company, valued at $8,983,458.12. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,000 shares of company stock worth $746,380 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Lease

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Air Lease in the 2nd quarter valued at $71,910,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Air Lease by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,353,803 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $162,492,000 after acquiring an additional 553,080 shares during the period. M3F Inc. acquired a new stake in Air Lease in the 1st quarter valued at $19,776,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Air Lease in the 2nd quarter valued at $22,986,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Air Lease in the 2nd quarter valued at $22,217,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.