Public Sector Pension Investment Board Grows Stock Holdings in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Air Lease Corporation by 27.3%, owning about $15.87 million worth of shares after purchasing an additional 70,456 shares.
• Several analysts have upgraded Air Lease's rating, with Citigroup raising the target price to $68.00, indicating positive expectations for the company's performance.
• Air Lease announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, indicating a yield of 1.6% and showcasing the firm's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 27.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 328,492 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 70,456 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.29% of Air Lease worth $15,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Air Lease during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Air Lease by 88.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 743 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Engine Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the first quarter valued at $147,000. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $45.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 price target (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised 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 five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.50.

Air Lease Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE AL traded down $0.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.21. 381,023 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 854,792. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.41. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $57.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.64. Air Lease Corporation has a 12-month low of $38.25 and a 12-month high of $60.41.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.07. Air Lease had a net margin of 34.04% and a return on equity of 7.99%. The business had revenue of $731.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $723.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Lease

In other news, EVP David Beker sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.44, for a total value of $110,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,048.80. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.