Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Grows Stock Position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 44.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,187 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $1,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AL. Creative Planning lifted its position in Air Lease by 23.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,885 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Lease by 79.6% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 91,572 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,352,000 after buying an additional 40,572 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,143,000. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Lease by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,269,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $107,859,000 after acquiring an additional 155,665 shares during the period. Finally, Caxton Associates LP increased its holdings in Air Lease by 52.3% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 22,920 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 7,870 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Air Lease from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen assumed 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Air Lease from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Lease currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.75.

Air Lease Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AL opened at $43.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.59. Air Lease Co. has a 12 month low of $33.33 and a 12 month high of $52.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $44.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.11.

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

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is 16.94%.

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.