First Trust Advisors LP Has $34.23 Million Stock Holdings in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 710,088 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 96,341 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.64% of Air Lease worth $34,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Air Lease by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,708 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Air Lease by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,655 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in Air Lease by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 45,851 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,210,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in Air Lease by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 43,524 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,098,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Air Lease by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,309 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Air Lease Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of AL stock opened at $45.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.34. Air Lease Co. has a 12-month low of $38.25 and a 12-month high of $52.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $45.67 and a 200-day moving average of $46.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

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

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. 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.