First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Boosts Stake in Air Lease Corporation $AL

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) by 198.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,666 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,402 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $1,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AL. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,353,803 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $162,492,000 after acquiring an additional 553,080 shares during the period. M3F Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 1st quarter worth approximately $19,776,000. Waverton Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Air Lease during the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,312,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,563,297 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $172,143,000 after acquiring an additional 336,376 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 18,200.7% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 335,268 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,197,000 after acquiring an additional 333,436 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Friday. Cowen cut Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $67.00 price target (up from $56.00) on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. 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 one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Lease currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.29.

Insider Activity at Air Lease

In related news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.57, for a total value of $317,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 141,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,983,458.12. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Beker sold 5,000 shares of the company’s 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 directly 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. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,000 shares of company stock worth $746,380 over the last ninety days. 6.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Air Lease Stock Performance

Shares of AL opened at $63.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.37. Air Lease Corporation has a 52 week low of $38.25 and a 52 week high of $64.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.15.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $731.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Air Lease Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is 10.68%.

About Air Lease

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.