JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 60,216 Shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,025,421 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,216 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 4.50% of Air Lease worth $242,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Air Lease during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Air Lease by 88.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 743 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Engine Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Air Lease during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Air Lease during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in Air Lease during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $147,000. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AL shares. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $67.00 price target (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Air Lease from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $45.00 to $68.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.50.

Insider Activity at Air Lease

In other news, EVP David Beker sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.44, for a total value of $110,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,770 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,048.80. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Air Lease Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:AL opened at $58.32 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $57.35 and its 200 day moving average is $51.49. Air Lease Corporation has a 1 year low of $38.25 and a 1 year high of $60.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $731.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $723.35 million. Air Lease had a return on equity of 7.99% and a net margin of 34.04%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.68%.

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.