Sit Investment Associates Inc. Has $4.41 Million Holdings in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 38.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,565 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 58,400 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. owned 0.08% of Air Lease worth $4,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AL. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Air Lease during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in Air Lease by 5,245.0% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,069 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Air Lease by 1,506.8% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Air Lease by 679.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,497 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 1,305 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group set a $50.00 price objective on Air Lease in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Air Lease from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.67.

Air Lease Price Performance

Shares of Air Lease stock opened at $42.00 on Friday. Air Lease Co. has a 1-year low of $39.43 and a 1-year high of $52.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $46.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.34.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.44. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.01% and a net margin of 15.65%. On average, equities analysts predict that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.43%.

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.