High Ground Investment Management LLP Takes $34.96 Million Position in Air Lease Corporation $AL

High Ground Investment Management LLP bought a new position in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 549,201 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,957,000. Air Lease makes up 5.8% of High Ground Investment Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Air Lease by 21.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 50,569 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,443,000 after acquiring an additional 9,056 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 1,675.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 204,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,855,000 after purchasing an additional 192,508 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 493.5% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 8,884 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 7,387 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 326,717 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $15,784,000 after purchasing an additional 15,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Lease by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 298,275 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,410,000 after buying an additional 41,912 shares during the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Air Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down previously from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Lease

In related news, EVP Kishore Korde sold 30,160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.90, for a total transaction of $1,927,224.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 79,263 shares in the company, valued at $5,064,905.70. This represents a 27.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Steven F. Udvar-Hazy sold 64,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total transaction of $4,097,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 74,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,737,480. This represents a 46.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 737,112 shares of company stock worth $47,169,796. Company insiders own 6.64% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Stock Down 0.0%

AL stock opened at $64.62 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Air Lease Corporation has a 1-year low of $38.25 and a 1-year high of $64.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $64.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.55.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The transportation company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.13. Air Lease had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 35.08%.The company had revenue of $725.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $744.59 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. Air Lease’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Air Lease

Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL) is a leading aircraft leasing company that acquires commercial jet aircraft and leases them to airlines worldwide. The firm’s core business activities include direct aircraft acquisition, lease management and portfolio remarketing. By structuring sale?and?leaseback transactions, operating leases and secured loans, Air Lease provides flexible financing solutions that enable carriers to modernize their fleets without committing large amounts of capital to ownership.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Air Lease Corporation serves a diverse customer base spanning North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.