American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 336,376 Shares of Air Lease Corporation $AL

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Air Lease Corporation by 10.4% during the first quarter, owning approximately 3.19% of the company with a total value of $172.1 million.
• Air Lease reported a 9.7% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share of $1.40, exceeding analyst expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, resulting in a 1.5% yield for shareholders, with the ex-dividend date set for September 3rd.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 10.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,563,297 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 336,376 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 3.19% of Air Lease worth $172,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Air Lease by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 104,429 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $5,034,000 after purchasing an additional 18,396 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in Air Lease by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 20,085 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,686 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Air Lease during the fourth quarter valued at $255,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Air Lease by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 710,088 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,233,000 after purchasing an additional 96,341 shares during the period. 94.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AL shares. Citigroup raised Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $68.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays reissued 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Lease has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.50.

Insider Transactions at Air Lease

In related news, EVP David Beker sold 2,000 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.44, for a total transaction of $110,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,096,048.80. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Air Lease Stock Performance

Shares of Air Lease stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $57.77. The company had a trading volume of 296,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 842,762. Air Lease Corporation has a one year low of $38.25 and a one year high of $60.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a PE ratio of 7.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.41.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $723.35 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.