Bfsg LLC Acquires New Shares in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 20,710 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $869,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AL. CWM LLC grew its stake in Air Lease by 296.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 911 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the third quarter valued at $48,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the third quarter valued at $126,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Lease by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,798 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Air Lease from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Air Lease from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Lease presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.25.

Air Lease Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Air Lease stock traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $51.40. 873,814 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,344,536. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.07 and a 200-day moving average of $41.56. Air Lease Co. has a 12 month low of $33.33 and a 12 month high of $51.77.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The transportation company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.79. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.87% and a net margin of 22.89%. The company had revenue of $716.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $672.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Air Lease Co. will post 5.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.31%.

Insider Activity at Air Lease

In related news, CEO John L. Plueger sold 28,515 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.06, for a total transaction of $1,142,310.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 808,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,402,210.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Air Lease news, EVP Carol Hyland Forsyte sold 3,046 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $121,900.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,884,361.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John L. Plueger sold 28,515 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.06, for a total value of $1,142,310.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 808,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,402,210.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,646 shares of company stock valued at $3,705,152 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.64% of the company’s stock.

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.