Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. Invests $3.38 Million in Air Lease Corporation $AL

Key Points

• Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. purchased 70,000 shares of Air Lease Corporation valued at approximately $3.38 million, representing about 0.06% of the company.
• Citigroup upgraded Air Lease's rating from "neutral" to "buy," raising its price target from $45 to $68, indicating positive sentiment from analysts towards the stock.
• Air Lease recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with an ex-dividend date of September 3rd, representing an annual yield of 1.5%.

Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 70,000 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $3,382,000. Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. owned 0.06% of Air Lease as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Air Lease by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 56,306 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,720,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in Air Lease by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 9,564 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its stake in Air Lease by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 14,131 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. 94.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Lease news, EVP David Beker sold 2,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 19,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,096,048.80. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cowen downgraded Air Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Air Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (up from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup raised Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Four research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.29.

Air Lease Stock Performance

Shares of AL traded down $0.26 on Wednesday, reaching $63.80. 9,066,679 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 943,075. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. The stock has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of 7.74, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $58.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.83. Air Lease Corporation has a 52-week low of $38.25 and a 52-week high of $64.30.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. Air Lease had a return on equity of 7.99% and a net margin of 34.04%.The business had revenue of $731.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $723.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. Air Lease's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. 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.