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

Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,890,000 shares, a growth of 7.4% from the November 30th total of 2,690,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 668,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Air Lease Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Air Lease stock traded up $0.17 on Wednesday, hitting $48.21. 388,160 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 923,321. Air Lease has a 12-month low of $39.15 and a 12-month high of $52.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The company has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $48.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.49.

Air Lease Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This is a positive change from Air Lease’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Air Lease’s payout ratio is presently 20.05%.

Institutional Trading of Air Lease

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AL. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Air Lease by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 830,047 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,591,000 after acquiring an additional 69,887 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Air Lease by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,630,317 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $73,858,000 after purchasing an additional 6,190 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Air Lease by 104.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,033 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after buying an additional 43,981 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Air Lease from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Air Lease in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.60.

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.