Snowden Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,892 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AL. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Air Lease in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Air Lease in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Engine Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Air Lease in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Air Lease by 5,245.0% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,069 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Air Lease by 1,506.8% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 10,000 shares of Air Lease stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.85, for a total transaction of $568,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 146,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,318,064.60. The trade was a 6.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AL shares. Bank of America lowered Air Lease from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Air Lease from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group set a $50.00 price target on Air Lease in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup upgraded Air Lease from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.43.

Air Lease Trading Up 1.6%

Air Lease stock opened at $58.04 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $38.25 and a 52 week high of $59.27. The company has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.74.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The transportation company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.27. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.01% and a net margin of 15.65%. The firm had revenue of $738.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.38%.

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.