Teacher Retirement System of Texas Invests $747,000 in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 15,468 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $747,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Air Lease by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,384,230 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $259,574,000 after purchasing an additional 362,585 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised 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 worth $162,492,000 after buying an additional 553,080 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Air Lease by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,226,921 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $155,570,000 after purchasing an additional 389,070 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in Air Lease by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,577,931 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $124,282,000 after acquiring an additional 9,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position 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 valued at $98,830,000 after buying an additional 690,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AL. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup raised shares of Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $68.00 in a 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 note on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.29.

Insider Transactions at Air Lease

In other news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 10,000 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.85, for a total value of $568,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 146,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,318,064.60. The trade was a 6.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Air Lease Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Air Lease stock traded down $0.10 on Thursday, reaching $58.20. The company had a trading volume of 170,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 779,816. Air Lease Corporation has a 52-week low of $38.25 and a 52-week high of $60.41. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $57.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.18. The firm has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a PE ratio of 10.17, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.35. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The transportation company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.38%.

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.