JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 4,142,874 Shares of Air Lease Corporation $AL

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its stake in Air Lease by 86.4%, selling 4,142,874 shares and retaining 654,102 shares (about 0.59% of the company) valued at roughly $41.6M.
• Air Lease reported quarterly EPS of $2.20, beating estimates by $0.74 while revenue of $679.5M missed expectations; revenue was up 15.1% year-over-year and net margin was 35.7%.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 (annualized $0.88, ~1.4% yield), and analysts hold a consensus price target of $66.00 with an average "Moderate Buy" rating.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 86.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 654,102 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 4,142,874 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.59% of Air Lease worth $41,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Air Lease in the third quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Lease by 2,980.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 462 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 129.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 528 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Lease by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 546 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on AL shares. Zacks Research raised Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.00.

Air Lease Stock Performance

NYSE:AL opened at $64.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. Air Lease Corporation has a 1 year low of $38.25 and a 1 year high of $64.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.60 and a 200-day moving average of $64.10.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.74. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 35.72%.The firm had revenue of $679.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $782.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. 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 9.45%.

Air Lease Company Profile

Air Lease Corporation NYSE: AL is a leading aircraft leasing company that acquires commercial jet aircraft and leases them to airlines worldwide. The firm's core business activities include direct aircraft acquisition, lease management and portfolio remarketing. By structuring sale‐and‐leaseback transactions, operating leases and secured loans, Air Lease provides flexible financing solutions that enable carriers to modernize their fleets without committing large amounts of capital to ownership.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Air Lease Corporation serves a diverse customer base spanning North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.