Magnetar Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 1,579,485 Air Lease Corporation $AL

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC acquired 1,579,485 shares of Air Lease (~$100.53 million) in Q3, making AL its 5th-largest holding; the stake represented about 1.41% of Air Lease and ~0.6% of Magnetar’s portfolio.
• Air Lease posted an EPS beat ($2.20 vs. $1.46 expected) while revenue missed estimates ($679.5M vs. $782.7M) and announced a $0.22 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.88, ~1.4% yield).
• Company insiders sold a total of 227,804 shares worth ~$14.6M in the past 90 days (notable sales by EVP Kishore Korde and Director Steven F. Udvar‑Hazy), though insiders still own about 6.8% of the stock.

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,579,485 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $100,534,000. Air Lease comprises 0.6% of Magnetar Financial LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Magnetar Financial LLC owned 1.41% of Air Lease at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Air Lease by 2,980.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 462 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Air Lease in the third quarter worth $29,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Air Lease during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Air Lease by 273.2% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 556 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Lease by 129.6% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 528 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Air Lease

In other news, EVP Kishore Korde sold 20,662 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $1,324,434.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 50,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,210,833.10. This trade represents a 29.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven F. Udvar-Hazy sold 64,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total value of $4,097,280.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 74,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,737,480. This trade represents a 46.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 227,804 shares of company stock worth $14,592,887 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Air Lease Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of AL opened at $64.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.95, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.11. Air Lease Corporation has a twelve month low of $38.25 and a twelve month high of $64.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.90.

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

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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