Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) Short Interest Update

Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,690,000 shares, a decrease of 9.7% from the November 15th total of 2,980,000 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 682,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Air Lease from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.60.

Air Lease Price Performance

AL stock traded down $0.69 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $49.07. The stock had a trading volume of 972,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 934,036. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Air Lease has a twelve month low of $39.15 and a twelve month high of $52.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.31.

Air Lease Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. This is a positive change from Air Lease’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Air Lease in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Air Lease in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Air Lease in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Air Lease by 55.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,868 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Air Lease by 16.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,111 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.