Air Lease (NYSE:AL) Cut to Underperform at Bank of America

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) was downgraded by analysts at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $50.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $72.00. Bank of America‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 8.98% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on 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 reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.80.

Air Lease Stock Performance

Air Lease stock opened at $45.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $47.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.64. 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 has a 12 month low of $39.43 and a 12 month high of $52.31.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Lease

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,415,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Lease by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,800,723 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $134,332,000 after purchasing an additional 842,780 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Air Lease by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,050,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $98,830,000 after purchasing an additional 690,000 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,414,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the third quarter valued at about $18,289,000. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.