Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) Shares Sold by Lyrical Asset Management LP

Key Points

• Lyrical Asset Management LP reduced its stake in Air Lease Corporation by 1.7%, selling 33,228 shares to hold 1,924,507 shares valued at approximately $92.97 million.
• Equities research analysts have shown renewed optimism for Air Lease, with Citigroup upgrading their rating to "buy" and raising the price target from $45.00 to $68.00.
• Air Lease reported impressive quarterly earnings of $1.40 EPS, exceeding estimates, while also announcing a dividend of $0.22 per share, to be paid on October 8th.

Lyrical Asset Management LP cut its stake in shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,924,507 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 33,228 shares during the quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP owned approximately 1.72% of Air Lease worth $92,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,025,421 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $242,778,000 after acquiring an additional 60,216 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,353,803 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $162,492,000 after acquiring an additional 553,080 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,577,931 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $124,282,000 after acquiring an additional 9,809 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Air Lease by 50.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,050,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $98,830,000 after buying an additional 690,000 shares during the period. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its holdings in Air Lease by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,773,830 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $85,694,000 after buying an additional 188,040 shares during the period. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Lease Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AL traded down $0.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $57.21. The stock had a trading volume of 381,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 854,792. Air Lease Corporation has a 12-month low of $38.25 and a 12-month high of $60.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.68.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $731.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $723.35 million. Air Lease had a return on equity of 7.99% and a net margin of 34.04%. Air Lease's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on AL shares. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 price target (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup raised Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Lease news, EVP David Beker sold 2,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,096,048.80. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.64% of the company's stock.

Air Lease 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.