Prudential Financial Inc. Cuts Stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 32.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,812 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 50,111 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Air Lease worth $4,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Lease by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,800,723 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $134,332,000 after acquiring an additional 842,780 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Air Lease in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,414,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Air Lease by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,226,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $155,570,000 after purchasing an additional 389,070 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 799,478 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $38,543,000 after buying an additional 194,189 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Air Lease by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,022,459 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,293,000 after buying an additional 131,453 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Air Lease stock opened at $48.36 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.94. The stock has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.60. Air Lease Co. has a 12-month low of $39.43 and a 12-month high of $52.31.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.44. Air Lease had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 8.01%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AL shares. UBS Group set a $50.00 price target on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Air Lease from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $72.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.67.

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.