First Trust Advisors LP Has $34.23 Million Stock Position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 710,088 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 96,341 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $34,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AL. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Air Lease during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,414,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 104.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,033 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,897,000 after acquiring an additional 43,981 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $37,591,000 after purchasing an additional 69,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its position in Air Lease by 2.7% during 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Stock Performance

NYSE AL opened at $45.59 on Friday. Air Lease Co. has a 12-month low of $38.25 and a 12-month high of $52.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $45.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.71. The company has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

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

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AL. UBS Group set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Lease from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.67.

Air Lease 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.