Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,110 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,259 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AL. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Air Lease in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Air Lease by 1,506.8% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 679.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,497 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 2,018.9% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 2,140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Price Performance

Shares of AL stock opened at $48.44 on Wednesday. Air Lease Co. has a one year low of $39.43 and a one year high of $52.31. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.98. The firm has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.60.

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

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.22 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 26.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Bank of America lowered Air Lease from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $72.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.67.

Air Lease 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.