Resolute Capital Asset Partners LLC Invests $3.66 Million in Air Lease Corporation $AL

Key Points

• Resolute Capital Asset Partners LLC invested $3.66 million in Air Lease Corporation, acquiring 75,772 shares and making up 2.1% of its portfolio.
• Analysts have rated Air Lease as a "Moderate Buy"** with a consensus target price of $59.50, after several recent upgrades from firms including Barclays and Citigroup.
• Air Lease reported earnings of $1.40 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 to be paid on October 8th.

Resolute Capital Asset Partners LLC acquired a new position in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 75,772 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $3,661,000. Air Lease comprises 2.1% of Resolute Capital Asset Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Resolute Capital Asset Partners LLC owned 0.07% of Air Lease at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 56,306 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,720,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Lease by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 9,564 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Lease by 2.1% in the first quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 14,131 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Air Lease by 152.4% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 588 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 target price (up from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.50.

Air Lease Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Air Lease stock opened at $59.98 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $57.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.08. The company has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.28, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.41. Air Lease Corporation has a 12-month low of $38.25 and a 12-month high of $60.59.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 34.04% and a return on equity of 7.99%. The company's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. 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 Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Lease

In other news, EVP David Beker sold 2,000 shares of the company'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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,096,048.80. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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