AQR Capital Management LLC Has $6.50 Million Stock Position in Air Lease Corporation $AL

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Air Lease Corporation by 7.5%, owning 138,567 shares valued at approximately $6.5 million by the end of the latest quarter.
• Air Lease Corporation reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.33, while also achieving a revenue of $731.70 million, up 9.7% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.4%, with the payout ratio currently at 10.68%.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,567 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,724 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Air Lease worth $6,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Air Lease by 152.4% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 588 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 1st quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Air Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Air Lease from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Cowen downgraded shares of Air Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Air Lease presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.29.

Air Lease Price Performance

Shares of AL stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $63.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,324,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,858,014. Air Lease Corporation has a 1-year low of $38.25 and a 1-year high of $64.30. The company has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.71, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. The firm's 50-day moving average is $59.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.92.

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

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.68%.

Insider Transactions at Air Lease

In related news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.57, for a total transaction of $317,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 141,316 shares in the company, valued at $8,983,458.12. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Beker sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.53, for a total transaction of $317,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at $887,514.10. This trade represents a 26.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $746,380 in the last quarter. 6.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.