Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 872,089 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,849 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.78% of Air Lease worth $42,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its holdings in Air Lease by 2.1% during the first quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 14,131 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Air Lease in the first quarter valued at approximately $747,000. Verity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Air Lease in the first quarter valued at approximately $348,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Air Lease by 19.7% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,353,803 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $162,492,000 after acquiring an additional 553,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waverton Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Air Lease in the first quarter valued at approximately $18,312,000. 94.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $45.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Air Lease from $56.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.29.

Insider Activity at Air Lease

In other news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.85, for a total transaction of $568,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 146,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,318,064.60. The trade was a 6.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Air Lease Stock Performance

NYSE AL traded up $0.99 on Thursday, reaching $59.01. 753,324 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 787,846. The firm has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $56.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.85. Air Lease Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $38.25 and a fifty-two week high of $60.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $738.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $709.70 million. Air Lease had a net margin of 24.77% and a return on equity of 8.04%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.38%.

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.