Bfsg LLC Takes $869,000 Position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 20,710 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $869,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC increased its stake in Air Lease by 296.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 911 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the third quarter valued at $48,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the third quarter valued at $126,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Lease by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,798 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kishore Korde sold 16,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.70, for a total value of $658,742.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 112,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,461,287.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Air Lease news, EVP Kishore Korde sold 16,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.70, for a total transaction of $658,742.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 112,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,461,287.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John L. Plueger sold 28,515 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.06, for a total value of $1,142,310.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 808,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,402,210.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,646 shares of company stock worth $3,705,152 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.64% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Stock Performance

AL stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.40. The company had a trading volume of 873,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,344,536. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.56. Air Lease Co. has a 1-year low of $33.33 and a 1-year high of $51.77. The firm has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.65.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The transportation company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.79. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.87% and a net margin of 22.89%. The company had revenue of $716.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $672.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Air Lease Co. will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Air Lease’s payout ratio is 16.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AL. Barclays lifted their price objective on Air Lease from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com cut Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Air Lease from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.25.

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.