Northern Trust Corp Acquires 33,930 Shares of Air Lease Corporation $AL

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Air Lease Corporation by 2.5%, owning 1.39 million shares valued at approximately $67.26 million as of the most recent filing.
• Air Lease reported a net income of $1.40 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.33 EPS, with a revenue increase of 9.7% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, set to be paid on October 8th, which represents an annual yield of 1.5% based on a payout ratio of 10.68%.

Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,392,292 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,930 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.25% of Air Lease worth $67,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Air Lease by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 14,793 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 10,410 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the 1st quarter worth approximately $348,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,347,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 45,244 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,186,000 after acquiring an additional 4,601 shares in the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $68.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.50.

Air Lease Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE AL traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.13. 560,927 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 837,519. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. The company's 50 day moving average price is $57.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.48. Air Lease Corporation has a 12 month low of $38.25 and a 12 month high of $61.10.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm 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 company'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, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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 currently 10.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Lease 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Air Lease Company 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.