Short Interest in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) Grows By 80.0%

Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,310,000 shares, a growth of 80.0% from the March 15th total of 2,950,000 shares. Currently, 5.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AL has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Air Lease from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Air Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Air Lease from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Air Lease Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Air Lease stock traded down $0.61 on Friday, reaching $48.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,151,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,331,904. The firm has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $45.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.01. Air Lease has a 1 year low of $33.33 and a 1 year high of $51.77.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The transportation company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $716.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $672.95 million. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.87% and a net margin of 22.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Air Lease will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.31%.

Insider Transactions at Air Lease

In other news, EVP Carol Hyland Forsyte sold 3,046 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $121,900.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,884,361.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Carol Hyland Forsyte sold 3,046 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $121,900.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 72,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,884,361.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John L. Plueger sold 19,095 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.27, for a total value of $768,955.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 859,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,598,091.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,646 shares of company stock valued at $3,705,152 over the last quarter. 6.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Lease

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Air Lease in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,256,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of Air Lease by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 186,241 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $7,340,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Air Lease by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 72,256 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,030,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its position in shares of Air Lease by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,402,282 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $58,812,000 after buying an additional 144,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Air Lease by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 938,826 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $36,999,000 after buying an additional 302,576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

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.