The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 24,393 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 272 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $1,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AL. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 104.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,033 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,897,000 after buying an additional 43,981 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Air Lease by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 830,047 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,591,000 after acquiring an additional 69,887 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Air Lease by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 18,203 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $878,000 after acquiring an additional 4,708 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its holdings in Air Lease by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 13,847 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $664,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Air Lease by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 26,720 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after acquiring an additional 5,783 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Trading Up 2.6%

AL opened at $56.93 on Wednesday. Air Lease Co. has a 12-month low of $38.25 and a 12-month high of $57.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $46.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.30.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The transportation company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.27. Air Lease had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 8.01%. The company had revenue of $738.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AL shares. UBS Group set a $50.00 target price on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered 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 research report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.67.

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.