Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) Short Interest Down 10.3% in September

Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) saw a significant decrease in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,870,000 shares, a decrease of 10.3% from the September 15th total of 3,200,000 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 766,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Lease

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Air Lease during the second quarter worth $29,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Air Lease in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Air Lease by 108.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank lifted its position in Air Lease by 33.8% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 1,775 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Monetary Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in Air Lease during the second quarter worth about $95,000. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Lease Price Performance

AL stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $45.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 989,774. The stock has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 9.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.59. The company’s 50 day moving average is $44.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.80. Air Lease has a fifty-two week low of $33.33 and a fifty-two week 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.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The transportation company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $667.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.93 million. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 20.85%. Equities research analysts expect that Air Lease will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.