Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc Sells 30,926 Shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc cut its position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 65.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,269 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 30,926 shares during the quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc's holdings in Air Lease were worth $786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AL. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Engine Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Air Lease during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Air Lease by 88.1% in the 1st 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, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of Air Lease by 5,245.0% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,069 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares during the period. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 10,000 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was 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 now owns 146,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,318,064.60. This trade represents 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 accessible through the SEC website. 6.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Air Lease Price Performance

Air Lease stock traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $57.65. The stock had a trading volume of 647,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 789,552. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Air Lease Co. has a 1-year low of $38.25 and a 1-year high of $59.27. The stock's fifty day moving average is $50.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.36.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The transportation company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $738.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Air Lease's payout ratio is currently 15.38%.

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.