Air Lease Corporation $AL Shares Sold by Polaris Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Polaris Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Air Lease Corporation by 15.6%, selling 5,900 shares, leaving it with a total of 32,000 shares valued at $1.87 million.
• Recent analyst activity saw Deutsche Bank downgrade Air Lease from "buy" to "hold," while Barclays raised its price target from $56.00 to $67.00, reflecting mixed sentiments among analysts.
• Air Lease announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with an ex-dividend date set for September 3rd, yielding an annualized total of $0.88.

Polaris Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,000 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 5,900 shares during the period. Polaris Capital Management LLC's holdings in Air Lease were worth $1,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AL. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Air Lease by 88.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 743 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Air Lease by 8,561.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 200,003 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $9,662,000 after acquiring an additional 197,694 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its position in shares of Air Lease by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,773,830 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $85,694,000 after acquiring an additional 188,040 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the 1st quarter worth about $303,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Air Lease by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 190,296 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $9,193,000 after acquiring an additional 27,611 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Air Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 price target (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cowen downgraded Air Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Air Lease from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Beker sold 5,000 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.53, for a total value of $317,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,970 shares in the company, valued at $887,514.10. The trade was a 26.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 5,000 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.57, for a total value of $317,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 141,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,983,458.12. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,000 shares of company stock worth $746,380. Company insiders own 6.64% of the company's stock.

Air Lease Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AL stock opened at $63.70 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $60.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.42. Air Lease Corporation has a twelve month low of $38.25 and a twelve month high of $64.30. The company has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47.

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

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Air Lease's payout ratio is 10.68%.

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.

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