Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Air Lease Corporation by 1.5%, now holding approximately 11.69 million shares valued at $564.8 million.
• Several other large investors, notably Allspring Global Investments which grew its stake by 19.7%, are actively buying and selling shares of Air Lease, indicating a dynamic investment environment.
• Analysts remain optimistic, with Barclays and Citigroup raising their price targets to $67.00 and $68.00 respectively, reflecting a positive outlook for Air Lease's stock performance.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its stake in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,691,822 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 174,121 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.46% of Air Lease worth $564,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AL. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Air Lease by 3.6% during the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 14,793 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Air Lease by 18.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 10,410 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Air Lease in the first quarter valued at $348,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Air Lease in the first quarter valued at $1,347,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Air Lease by 10.2% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 71,283 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,444,000 after purchasing an additional 6,600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Air Lease Price Performance

Shares of Air Lease stock traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $57.21. 381,023 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 854,792. The stock has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.94, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $57.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.68. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $731.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $723.35 million. Air Lease had a net margin of 34.04% and a return on equity of 7.99%. The business's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up 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 raised their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $68.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.50.

Insider Activity at Air Lease

In related news, EVP David Beker sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,770 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,048.80. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.