Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $2.27 Million Stock Position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 33.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,006 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 24,141 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in Air Lease were worth $2,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AL. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Air Lease during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Engine Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Air Lease by 88.1% during 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. raised its stake in Air Lease by 5,245.0% during 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 Buying and Selling at Air Lease

In related news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 10,000 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 6.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.64% of the company's stock.

Air Lease Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:AL traded down $0.26 on Thursday, hitting $57.42. 218,625 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 788,373. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.78. Air Lease Co. has a 52 week low of $38.25 and a 52 week high of $59.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.36.

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 firm had revenue of $738.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $709.70 million. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.01% and a net margin of 15.65%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised Air Lease from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group set a $50.00 price target on shares of Air Lease in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Lease from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.43.

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.