Air Lease (NYSE:AL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Lease (NYSE:AL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company 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 research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.67.

Air Lease Stock Performance

Shares of Air Lease stock opened at $53.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.33. 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 has a twelve month low of $38.25 and a twelve month high of $54.70. The company’s fifty day moving average is $45.93 and its 200 day moving average is $47.12.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The transportation company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.27. The company 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Air Lease will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Air Lease during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Air Lease during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Air Lease in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 88.1% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 743 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.