Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) Shares Sold by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC decreased its position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 42.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,794 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 5,010 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Air Lease in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the fourth quarter valued at $31,414,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 104.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,033 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after acquiring an additional 43,981 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Air Lease by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 830,047 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,591,000 after purchasing an additional 69,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its stake in Air Lease by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,585,790 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $76,451,000 after purchasing an additional 42,034 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group set a $50.00 price target on Air Lease in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Air Lease from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Lease presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.67.

Air Lease Price Performance

Air Lease stock opened at $48.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.34. Air Lease Co. has a 1 year low of $38.25 and a 1 year high of $52.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.85.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.43%.

Air Lease 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.