Waverton Investment Management Ltd Grows Position in Air Lease Corporation $AL

Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 426,769 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares during the quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd owned about 0.38% of Air Lease worth $27,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Air Lease by 21.8% in 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 boosted its position in Air Lease by 1,675.1% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 204,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,855,000 after purchasing an additional 192,508 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Air Lease by 493.5% during 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 during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Air Lease by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 326,717 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $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 raised its position in Air Lease by 16.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 298,275 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $14,410,000 after purchasing an additional 41,912 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AL opened at $64.87 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.97, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $64.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. Air Lease Corporation has a 52-week low of $38.25 and a 52-week high of $64.96.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.74. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 35.72%.The firm had revenue of $679.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.67 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Air Lease’s payout ratio is currently 9.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AL. Zacks Research raised Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 price target (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven F. Udvar-Hazy sold 64,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total value of $4,097,280.00. Following the sale, the director owned 74,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,737,480. This trade represents a 46.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kishore Korde sold 20,662 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total transaction of $1,324,434.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 50,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,210,833.10. The trade was a 29.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 595,958 shares of company stock worth $38,158,193 in the last three months. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Air Lease Company Profile

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.