Head to Head Analysis: Air Lease (AL) versus Its Rivals

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) is one of 14 public companies in the “TRANS – EQP&LSNG” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Air Lease to similar businesses based on the strength of its dividends, profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Dividends

Air Lease pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Air Lease pays out 9.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “TRANS – EQP&LSNG” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.3% and pay out 21.0% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Air Lease has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Air Lease is clearly a better dividend stock than its peers, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk and Volatility

Air Lease has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Air Lease’s peers have a beta of 1.48, indicating that their average stock price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Air Lease and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Air Lease	0	3	2	1	2.67
Air Lease Competitors	143	628	1070	67	2.56

Air Lease presently has a consensus target price of $66.00, indicating a potential upside of 1.54%. As a group, “TRANS – EQP&LSNG” companies have a potential upside of 6.85%. Given Air Lease’s peers higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Air Lease has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Air Lease and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Air Lease	$3.02 billion	$1.09 billion	6.98
Air Lease Competitors	$3.84 billion	$571.05 million	-36.46

Air Lease’s peers have higher revenue, but lower earnings than Air Lease. Air Lease is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.6% of Air Lease shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.4% of shares of all “TRANS – EQP&LSNG” companies are owned by institutional investors. 6.6% of Air Lease shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 10.3% of shares of all “TRANS – EQP&LSNG” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Air Lease and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Air Lease	35.72%	8.54%	2.13%
Air Lease Competitors	1.03%	10.85%	1.92%

Summary

Air Lease beats its peers on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

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. As of December 31, 2023, it owned a fleet of 463 aircraft, including 345 narrowbody aircraft and 118 widebody aircraft. Air Lease Corporation was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.