Swiss National Bank Grows Stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 208,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.19% of Air Lease worth $10,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AL. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Air Lease in the third quarter worth about $31,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Air Lease during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position 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 worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Air Lease by 679.7% in 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 position in Air Lease by 2,018.9% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,140 shares in the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Lease Stock Down 0.2 %

Air Lease stock opened at $47.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.43 and a fifty-two week high of $52.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $46.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.63.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.44. Air Lease had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 8.01%. As a group, analysts forecast that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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