Millennium Management LLC Has $554,000 Stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Millennium Management LLC lessened its stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 94.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,492 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 207,512 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC's holdings in Air Lease were worth $554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AL. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Engine Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Air Lease in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 5,245.0% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,069 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Air Lease by 1,506.8% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the period. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup raised shares of Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group set a $50.00 target price on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America cut shares of Air Lease from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $72.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Lease currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.43.

Air Lease Price Performance

AL traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $57.50. 562,793 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 789,689. Air Lease Co. has a one year low of $38.25 and a one year high of $59.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The transportation company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.27. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.01% and a net margin of 15.65%. The firm had revenue of $738.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $709.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Air Lease's payout ratio is 15.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.85, for a total value of $568,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 146,316 shares in the company, valued at $8,318,064.60. This trade represents a 6.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company 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.