Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Buys 27,611 Shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 17.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 190,296 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,611 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned about 0.17% of Air Lease worth $9,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Air Lease by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,655 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in Air Lease by 0.6% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in Air Lease by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 9,564 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in shares of Air Lease by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 43,524 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,098,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Air Lease

In other news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.85, for a total value of $568,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 146,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,318,064.60. This represents a 6.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.64% of the company's stock.

Air Lease Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE AL traded down $0.56 on Tuesday, hitting $57.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 765,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 789,331. The firm has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.36. Air Lease Co. has a 52-week low of $38.25 and a 52-week high of $59.27. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $50.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The transportation company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $738.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.70 million. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.01% and a net margin of 15.65%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Air Lease's payout ratio is currently 15.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group set a $50.00 target price on Air Lease in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America cut Air Lease from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Lease has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.43.

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.