Air Lease Corporation $AL Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Air Lease Corporation by 15.5%, selling 102,736 shares and leaving it with approximately 0.50% ownership worth $27.1 million.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.40, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.33, alongside revenue growth of 9.7% year-over-year.
• Air Lease has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, set to be paid on October 8th, yielding an annualized rate of 1.5%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its position in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 560,978 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 102,736 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.50% of Air Lease worth $27,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Air Lease by 1.2% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,025,421 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $242,778,000 after buying an additional 60,216 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 553,080 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Air Lease by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,577,931 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $124,282,000 after purchasing an additional 9,809 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Air Lease by 50.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,050,000 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $98,830,000 after purchasing an additional 690,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its stake in Air Lease by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,773,830 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $85,694,000 after purchasing an additional 188,040 shares in the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Air Lease Stock Performance

AL traded up $1.1650 on Thursday, hitting $58.8150. 802,407 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 842,637. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.39 and a 200-day moving average of $51.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 7.14, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.41. 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 quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. Air Lease had a return on equity of 7.99% and a net margin of 34.04%.The firm had revenue of $731.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $723.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Air Lease's payout ratio is presently 10.68%.

Insider Transactions at Air Lease

In related news, EVP David Beker sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 19,770 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,048.80. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.