Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) Short Interest Down 10.3% in September

Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) saw a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,870,000 shares, a decline of 10.3% from the September 15th total of 3,200,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 766,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Air Lease in a report on Monday, July 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Air Lease from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Air Lease from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Lease has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Lease

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Air Lease in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Air Lease by 108.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank increased its holdings in Air Lease by 33.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 1,775 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monetary Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in Air Lease during the second quarter worth about $95,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Stock Performance

NYSE AL traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $45.03. 138,619 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 990,349. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69. The company has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.59. Air Lease has a 12-month low of $33.33 and a 12-month high of $52.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.27 and a 200 day moving average of $46.80.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The transportation company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.41). Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 20.85%. The business had revenue of $667.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.93 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Air Lease will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Air Lease’s payout ratio is currently 16.94%.

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.