Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Grows Holdings in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 1,506.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,115 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $57,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Air Lease in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the third quarter valued at about $872,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Air Lease by 3.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,115,221 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $50,508,000 after purchasing an additional 36,596 shares during the period. Highland Peak Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the third quarter valued at about $7,066,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the third quarter valued at about $18,289,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Stock Performance

AL opened at $46.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.60. Air Lease Co. has a twelve month low of $39.43 and a twelve month high of $52.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $46.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts expect that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Air Lease’s payout ratio is 26.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group set a $50.00 target price on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Air Lease from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company 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 assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.67.

Air Lease 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.