Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Trims Stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lowered its holdings in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,459 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,246 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AL. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Air Lease by 0.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,720,757 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $107,225,000 after acquiring an additional 14,549 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Air Lease by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,825,501 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $71,943,000 after purchasing an additional 217,170 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,669,291 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $65,787,000 after buying an additional 226,908 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its position in Air Lease by 11.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Air Lease by 8.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,082,070 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $42,644,000 after buying an additional 86,353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:AL opened at $52.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.65. Air Lease Co. has a 52 week low of $33.33 and a 52 week high of $52.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $46.63 and a 200 day moving average of $41.88.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The transportation company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.79. Air Lease had a net margin of 22.89% and a return on equity of 8.87%. The company had revenue of $716.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $672.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. Air Lease’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Air Lease Co. will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on AL shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Air Lease from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Air Lease from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.25.

Insider Activity

In other Air Lease news, EVP Alex A. Khatibi sold 11,199 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.37, for a total value of $530,496.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 76,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,614,331. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Air Lease news, EVP Alex A. Khatibi sold 11,199 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.37, for a total transaction of $530,496.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 76,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,614,331. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alex A. Khatibi sold 11,198 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.11, for a total value of $482,745.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,772,081.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 89,646 shares of company stock valued at $3,705,152. Company insiders own 6.64% of the company’s stock.

About Air Lease

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.