Boston Partners Sells 41,622 Shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Boston Partners reduced its stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 31.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 90,504 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 41,622 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Air Lease were worth $3,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the fourth quarter valued at about $869,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Air Lease in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,256,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 722,143 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,287,000 after purchasing an additional 38,302 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in shares of Air Lease by 0.6% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 186,241 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellis Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Air Lease by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 72,256 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,030,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Lease Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Air Lease stock opened at $49.41 on Friday. Air Lease Co. has a 1 year low of $33.33 and a 1 year high of $52.31. The company has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The transportation company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.07). Air Lease had a net margin of 21.89% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The company had revenue of $663.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Air Lease Co. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is 16.94%.

Insider Transactions at Air Lease

In related news, EVP Alex A. Khatibi sold 11,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.37, for a total transaction of $530,496.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 76,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,614,331. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Alex A. Khatibi sold 11,199 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.37, for a total transaction of $530,496.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 76,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,614,331. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John L. Plueger sold 28,515 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.06, for a total value of $1,142,310.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 808,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,402,210.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,646 shares of company stock valued at $3,705,152. 6.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on AL shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Air Lease from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Air Lease from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Air Lease from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Lease presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.80.

Air Lease Company 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.