Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) saw a significant decrease in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,870,000 shares, a decrease of 10.3% from the September 15th total of 3,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 766,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Air Lease

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AL. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 18,776 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $966,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Air Lease by 1.4% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 21,757 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 16.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,111 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank increased its position in shares of Air Lease by 33.8% during the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 1,775 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 9,588 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the period. 94.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Lease Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AL traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $45.03. The company had a trading volume of 4,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 989,774. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.50. Air Lease has a 1 year low of $33.33 and a 1 year high of $52.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.59.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The transportation company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.41). Air Lease had a net margin of 20.85% and a return on equity of 8.97%. The firm had revenue of $667.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.93 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Air Lease will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AL shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Air Lease from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Air Lease from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Monday, July 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.75.

Air Lease Company 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.