Zacks Research Downgrades Air Lease (NYSE:AL) to Strong Sell

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Cowen lowered shares of Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $67.00 target price (up from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Air Lease from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Lease currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.29.

Air Lease Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AL opened at $63.79 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.60. The company has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.36. Air Lease has a 1 year low of $38.25 and a 1 year high of $64.30. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The transportation company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.05. Air Lease had a return on equity of 7.99% and a net margin of 34.04%.The business had revenue of $725.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $744.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Air Lease will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Air Lease

In other Air Lease news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.57, for a total transaction of $317,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 141,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,983,458.12. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Beker sold 5,000 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.53, for a total value of $317,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,970 shares in the company, valued at $887,514.10. This trade represents a 26.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Lease

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 14,793 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Air Lease during the first quarter worth $1,347,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in Air Lease by 7.4% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 21,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Air Lease by 11.3% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 45,244 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,186,000 after buying an additional 4,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 1st quarter worth $987,000. 94.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.