Villanova Investment Management Co LLC Raises Stake in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Villanova Investment Management Co LLC lifted its position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,576 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 10,154 shares during the period. Air Lease comprises 4.4% of Villanova Investment Management Co LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC owned 0.09% of Air Lease worth $4,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the third quarter worth $31,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 5,245.0% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,069 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 1,506.8% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Air Lease by 679.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,497 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 1,305 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered 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. 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group set a $50.00 target price on shares of Air Lease in a report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Lease has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.67.

Air Lease Stock Down 6.9 %

Shares of Air Lease stock traded down $3.13 on Friday, reaching $42.00. 1,694,665 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 745,255. The company has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.60. 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 Co. has a one year low of $39.43 and a one year high of $52.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.03 and a 200 day moving average of $46.99.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.43%.

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.