Earnest Partners LLC Has $124.28 Million Position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,577,931 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,809 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned approximately 2.31% of Air Lease worth $124,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Air Lease by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,708 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,480,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,655 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 45,851 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,210,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in Air Lease by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 43,524 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,098,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Air Lease by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,309 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut Air Lease from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $50.00 price target on Air Lease in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.67.

Air Lease Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of AL stock traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.84. 1,081,348 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 760,991. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $45.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.80. Air Lease Co. has a fifty-two week low of $38.25 and a fifty-two week high of $52.31. The company has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.44. Air Lease had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 8.01%. Research analysts predict that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.43%.

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.