Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases New Stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 23,372 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,127,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Air Lease during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,414,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Air Lease by 104.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,033 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 43,981 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Air Lease by 9.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 830,047 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $37,591,000 after purchasing an additional 69,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,585,790 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $76,451,000 after purchasing an additional 42,034 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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 objective on Air Lease in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Lease from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.67.

Air Lease Stock Up 1.6 %

AL traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $42.46. 737,376 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 760,424. The stock has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.75, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.34. Air Lease Co. has a 1-year low of $38.25 and a 1-year high of $52.31. The stock's 50-day moving average is $46.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.44. Air Lease had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 8.01%. Sell-side analysts predict that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Air Lease's payout ratio is 26.43%.

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.