First Eagle Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 258,187 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 52,500 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $12,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Air Lease by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 208,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Air Lease by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 23,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 4,322 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Air Lease by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 22,379 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Lease by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 64,683 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,118,000 after buying an additional 3,992 shares during the period. Finally, Glaxis Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Lease during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,495,000. 94.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Lease Price Performance

Shares of AL stock opened at $46.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.60. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.72 and its 200 day moving average is $46.59. Air Lease Co. has a twelve month low of $39.43 and a twelve month high of $52.31. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America cut Air Lease from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $72.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group set a $50.00 target price on Air Lease in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.67.

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.