US Bancorp DE Increases Stock Position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 89,723 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,428 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Air Lease were worth $4,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AL. Creative Planning lifted its position in Air Lease by 16.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,349 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,464 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Air Lease by 18.6% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,979 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Air Lease by 9.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 830,047 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,591,000 after acquiring an additional 69,887 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Air Lease by 10.0% in the third quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,160 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in Air Lease by 4.2% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 43,206 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,734 shares during the period. 94.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Lease Trading Up 3.7 %

NYSE AL opened at $46.83 on Thursday. Air Lease Co. has a one year low of $39.43 and a one year high of $52.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $47.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.62. The firm has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.59.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts expect that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.88%. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on AL. 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 restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Lease has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.50.

About Air Lease

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.