Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Air Lease Corporation $AL

Key Points

• Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Air Lease Corporation by 48.2%, now owning a total of 30,166 shares worth approximately $1.46 million.
• Air Lease's latest earnings report showed a quarterly EPS of $1.40, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue increasing by 9.7% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22, reflecting an annual yield of 1.4% and a low payout ratio of 10.68%.

Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 48.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,166 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,815 shares during the quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Air Lease were worth $1,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Air Lease by 3.6% in the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 14,793 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Air Lease by 18.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 10,410 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 1,640 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Lease during the first quarter valued at about $348,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Air Lease during the first quarter valued at about $1,347,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Lease by 11.3% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 45,244 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,186,000 after buying an additional 4,601 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Lease news, EVP David Beker sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.44, for a total value of $110,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,770 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,048.80. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 6.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Air Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. TD Cowen cut Air Lease from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Citigroup raised Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Cowen cut Air Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Lease presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.29.

Air Lease Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Air Lease stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.53. 2,525,679 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,334,465. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. The stock's fifty day moving average is $58.87 and its 200 day moving average is $53.64. The firm has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.37. Air Lease Corporation has a 1 year low of $38.25 and a 1 year high of $64.30.

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

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

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

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.