Air Lease (NYSE:AL) Sets New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $59.95 and last traded at $59.75, with a volume of 467493 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $58.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group set a $50.00 target price on Air Lease in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America lowered shares of Air Lease from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.43.

Air Lease Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $55.32 and a 200-day moving average of $49.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The stock has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a PE ratio of 10.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.35.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The transportation company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $738.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.70 million. Air Lease had a net margin of 24.77% and a return on equity of 8.04%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Lease news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.85, for a total transaction of $568,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 146,316 shares in the company, valued at $8,318,064.60. This represents a 6.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Air Lease

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Air Lease by 0.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,592,510 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $318,479,000 after buying an additional 31,274 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,453,859 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $263,476,000 after acquiring an additional 69,629 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Air Lease by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,025,421 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $242,778,000 after acquiring an additional 60,216 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Air Lease by 10.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,563,297 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $172,143,000 after purchasing an additional 336,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Air Lease by 19.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,353,803 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $162,492,000 after purchasing an additional 553,080 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company's stock.

About Air Lease

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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