LPL Financial LLC Has $2.19 Million Stock Position in Air Lease Corporation $AL

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Air Lease Corporation by 11.3%, owning 45,244 shares valued at approximately $2.19 million after purchasing an additional 4,601 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds have also adjusted their holdings in Air Lease, with notable increases, including Versant Capital Management Inc boosting its stake by 88.1% during the same period.
• Analysts have responded positively, with Citigroup upgrading the stock rating to "buy" and raising the price target from $45 to $68, indicating a bullish outlook on Air Lease's growth potential.

LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 11.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,244 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,601 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Air Lease were worth $2,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AL. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Air Lease by 3.6% in the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 14,793 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Air Lease by 18.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 10,410 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Lease in the first quarter valued at approximately $348,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Air Lease in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,347,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Air Lease by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 71,283 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,444,000 after purchasing an additional 6,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Beker sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,096,048.80. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.50.

Air Lease Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Air Lease stock traded up $1.1650 on Thursday, hitting $58.8150. 802,407 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 842,637. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $57.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 7.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.41. Air Lease Corporation has a one year low of $38.25 and a one year high of $60.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $731.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $723.35 million. Air Lease had a net margin of 34.04% and a return on equity of 7.99%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Air Lease's payout ratio is 10.68%.

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.