Hsbc Holdings PLC Takes Position in Air Lease Corporation $AL

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Air Lease Corporation, purchasing 20,656 shares valued at approximately $987,000.
• Several hedge funds, including Wellington Management and Algert Global, increased their stakes in Air Lease in Q1, demonstrating strong institutional interest, with 94.59% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Air Lease recently declared a $0.22 quarterly dividend, reflecting a 1.5% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for September 3rd.

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 20,656 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $987,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Air Lease during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Air Lease by 152.4% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 588 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Engine Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Air Lease during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Air Lease by 88.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 743 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Air Lease during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $68.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Air Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday. Cowen downgraded shares of Air Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Lease currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Lease news, EVP David Beker sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.44, for a total transaction of $110,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,096,048.80. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Air Lease Stock Performance

NYSE AL traded down $0.26 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $63.81. 5,512,204 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 921,376. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.74, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.37. Air Lease Corporation has a 12-month low of $38.25 and a 12-month high of $64.30. 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 50 day moving average of $58.07 and a 200-day moving average of $52.83.

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. The business had revenue of $731.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $723.35 million. Air Lease had a net margin of 34.04% and a return on equity of 7.99%. The company's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 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 1.4%. Air Lease's dividend 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.