Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 12,917 Shares of Air Lease Corporation $AL

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Air Lease Corporation by 3.8%, reducing its ownership to approximately 0.30% of the company worth $15.94 million.
• Institutional investors hold a significant share of Air Lease, with 94.59% of the stock owned by such entities, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Air Lease recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.5% and a payout ratio of 10.68%.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC cut its position in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 329,867 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 12,917 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.30% of Air Lease worth $15,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Air Lease by 0.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,592,510 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $318,479,000 after purchasing an additional 31,274 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Air Lease by 2.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 388,066 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $18,716,000 after purchasing an additional 10,582 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Lease by 399.4% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 33,930 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 27,136 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Air Lease by 27.3% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 328,492 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $15,869,000 after purchasing an additional 70,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in Air Lease by 45.6% during the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 46,354 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,239,000 after acquiring an additional 14,516 shares in the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price 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 target price (up from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.50.

Air Lease Price Performance

AL stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $57.77. 296,239 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 842,762. Air Lease Corporation has a 52 week low of $38.25 and a 52 week high of $60.41. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.68%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 owned 19,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,048.80. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

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.