Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 116,454 Shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,561,236 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 116,454 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.89% of Air Lease worth $316,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Air Lease by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,384,230 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $259,574,000 after buying an additional 362,585 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Air Lease by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,226,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $155,570,000 after acquiring an additional 389,070 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Air Lease by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,800,723 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $134,332,000 after acquiring an additional 842,780 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its position in Air Lease by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,585,790 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $76,451,000 after purchasing an additional 42,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Air Lease by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,141,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $55,036,000 after purchasing an additional 26,373 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AL opened at $42.46 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.34. Air Lease Co. has a 1-year low of $38.25 and a 1-year high of $52.31.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.44. Air Lease had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 8.01%. Research analysts expect that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AL shares. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Lease from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.67.

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.