Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) Short Interest Down 26.7% in June

Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,300,000 shares, a decline of 26.7% from the June 15th total of 4,500,000 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 810,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 29th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Air Lease from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Air Lease from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Lease presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Lease

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AL. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Air Lease in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Air Lease during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Air Lease by 1,341.4% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,254 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Lease during the fourth quarter worth $77,000. 94.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Lease Stock Performance

Shares of AL stock opened at $47.78 on Monday. Air Lease has a 52 week low of $33.33 and a 52 week high of $52.31. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.75. The firm has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.48.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The transportation company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $663.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.26 million. Air Lease had a net margin of 21.89% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Air Lease will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Air Lease’s 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.