Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Buys 95,006 Shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 498,833 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 95,006 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $24,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AL. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Air Lease during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Air Lease during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Air Lease by 1,506.8% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,305 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,140 shares during the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group set a $50.00 price target on shares of Air Lease in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.67.

Air Lease Stock Performance

AL stock opened at $48.32 on Friday. Air Lease Co. has a 1-year low of $39.43 and a 1-year high of $52.31. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $46.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.84. The company has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a PEG 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 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 net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 8.01%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.43%.

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.