Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,130,000 shares, an increase of 6.1% from the October 15th total of 2,950,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 660,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Lease

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Air Lease by 23.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,578,106 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $647,018,000 after acquiring an additional 2,404,649 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Air Lease by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,410,373 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $155,180,000 after purchasing an additional 25,874 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in Air Lease by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 2,875,522 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $130,232,000 after acquiring an additional 70,299 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Air Lease by 5.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,433,676 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $115,673,000 after buying an additional 115,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 7.4% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,269,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $107,859,000 after purchasing an additional 155,665 shares in the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Air Lease Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AL traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.23. 521,511 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 962,594. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.59. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. Air Lease has a 12 month low of $37.65 and a 12 month high of $52.31.

Air Lease Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from Air Lease’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. Air Lease’s dividend payout ratio is 19.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Air Lease from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Air Lease from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Air Lease in a report on Monday, July 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.75.

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.