Air Lease Corporation $AL Holdings Lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its stake in Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) by 86.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 654,102 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 4,142,874 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $41,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in Air Lease by 3.1% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 36,138 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,300,000 after buying an additional 1,080 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Lease by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,153 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $710,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Air Lease by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 409,795 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,083,000 after purchasing an additional 55,458 shares during the period. Alpine Associates Management Inc. purchased a new position in Air Lease during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,043,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Air Lease by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 259,268 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,502,000 after purchasing an additional 7,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kishore Korde sold 20,662 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $1,324,434.20. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven F. Udvar-Hazy sold 64,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total transaction of $4,097,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 74,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,737,480. This represents a 46.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 595,958 shares of company stock worth $38,158,193. 6.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Air Lease Stock Performance

Shares of AL stock opened at $64.90 on Friday. Air Lease Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $38.25 and a fifty-two week high of $64.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $64.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.44. 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 has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.97, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.13.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $679.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.67 million. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 35.72%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. Analysts predict that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid 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 is 9.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.