GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. Makes New $11.67 Million Investment in Air Lease Corporation $AL

GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. bought a new stake in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 183,356 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,671,000. Air Lease makes up approximately 1.9% of GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. owned approximately 0.16% of Air Lease at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 50,569 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,443,000 after acquiring an additional 9,056 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Air Lease by 1,675.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 204,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,855,000 after purchasing an additional 192,508 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Air Lease by 493.5% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 8,884 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 7,387 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Lease by 5.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 326,717 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $15,784,000 after buying an additional 15,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Lease by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 298,275 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,410,000 after buying an additional 41,912 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Price Performance

Air Lease stock opened at $64.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.11. Air Lease Corporation has a 12-month low of $38.25 and a 12-month high of $64.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.70.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $679.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AL. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down from $68.00) on shares of Air Lease in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.60.

Insider Activity

In other Air Lease news, Director Steven F. Udvar-Hazy sold 19,000 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.12, for a total value of $1,218,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,391,366 shares in the company, valued at $89,214,387.92. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $64,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,822,345.80. The trade was a 0.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 542,625 shares of company stock valued at $34,743,668 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.64% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Company Profile

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.