Air Lease Corporation $AL Shares Sold by Long Focus Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Long Focus Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Air Lease Corporation by 12.3%, selling 20,000 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with 142,707 shares valued at approximately $6.89 million.
• The company reported a 9.7% year-over-year revenue increase, with quarterly earnings of $1.40 per share, which exceeded analysts' expectations by $0.07.
• Air Lease has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22, set to be paid on October 8th, with an annualized yield of 1.5%.

Long Focus Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 142,707 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 20,000 shares during the period. Long Focus Capital Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Air Lease worth $6,894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 0.5% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 56,306 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,720,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 9,564 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 2.1% in the first quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 14,131 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 88.1% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 152.4% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 588 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Air Lease Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of AL stock traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $63.80. 9,066,679 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 943,075. The stock's 50 day moving average is $58.07 and its 200-day moving average is $52.83. The company has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. Air Lease Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $38.25 and a fifty-two week high of $64.30.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 7.99% and a net margin of 34.04%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Beker sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.44, for a total value of $110,880.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Air Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup raised shares of Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Cowen downgraded shares of Air Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.29.

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.