AQR Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 56.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 320,469 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 423,174 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.29% of Air Lease worth $15,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Air Lease by 23.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,578,106 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $647,018,000 after purchasing an additional 2,404,649 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Air Lease by 44.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,584,168 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $192,260,000 after buying an additional 1,407,902 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Air Lease by 5.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,433,676 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $115,673,000 after buying an additional 115,293 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Air Lease by 5.0% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,119,561 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $100,743,000 after acquiring an additional 101,568 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,113,615 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $108,724,000 after acquiring an additional 343,360 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AL shares. TD Cowen started coverage on Air Lease in a research note on Monday, July 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Air Lease from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Air Lease from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.75.

Air Lease Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of AL stock opened at $44.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 8.91, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.59. Air Lease Co. has a 52-week low of $33.33 and a 52-week high of $52.31.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The transportation company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.41). Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 20.85%. The business had revenue of $667.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.93 million. On average, analysts predict that Air Lease Co. will post 6.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.94%.

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.