Air Lease (NYSE:AL) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 price target (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.60.

Air Lease Stock Performance

Shares of AL stock opened at $64.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.13. Air Lease has a 52 week low of $38.25 and a 52 week high of $64.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.10.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.74. Air Lease had a net margin of 35.72% and a return on equity of 8.54%. The company had revenue of $679.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. Air Lease’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Air Lease will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Steven F. Udvar-Hazy sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.12, for a total transaction of $1,218,280.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,391,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,214,387.92. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kishore Korde sold 20,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total transaction of $1,324,434.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 50,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,210,833.10. The trade was a 29.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 641,418 shares of company stock valued at $41,062,322. Corporate insiders own 6.64% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Lease

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Archer Investment Corp boosted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 3,415 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Air Lease by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 726 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 4.8% during the third quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 3,982 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Air Lease by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 777 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its stake in shares of Air Lease by 33.2% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 799 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

About Air Lease

Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL) is a leading aircraft leasing company that acquires commercial jet aircraft and leases them to airlines worldwide. The firm’s core business activities include direct aircraft acquisition, lease management and portfolio remarketing. By structuring sale‐and‐leaseback transactions, operating leases and secured loans, Air Lease provides flexible financing solutions that enable carriers to modernize their fleets without committing large amounts of capital to ownership.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Air Lease Corporation serves a diverse customer base spanning North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.