Swiss National Bank Buys 1,500 Shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 208,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $10,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AL. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Air Lease in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Air Lease during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Air Lease by 1,506.8% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Air Lease by 679.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,497 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Air Lease by 2,018.9% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 2,140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE AL opened at $47.40 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.63. Air Lease Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.43 and a fifty-two week high of $52.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

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

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on AL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America lowered shares of Air Lease from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.67.

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.