Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) Short Interest Update

Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,890,000 shares, an increase of 7.4% from the November 30th total of 2,690,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 668,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 2.8% of the company's shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on AL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.60.

Air Lease Trading Up 0.4 %

AL traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $48.21. 388,160 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 923,321. The firm's fifty day moving average is $48.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.50. Air Lease has a 1-year low of $39.15 and a 1-year high of $52.31. The company has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63.

Air Lease Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. This is a boost from Air Lease's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Air Lease by 1.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 917,586 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $43,613,000 after purchasing an additional 13,559 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 149.8% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 41,034 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,950,000 after buying an additional 24,608 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Air Lease by 25.5% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,499 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Lease during the second quarter worth approximately $252,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Air Lease by 1.2% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 258,398 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $12,282,000 after acquiring an additional 3,159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company's stock.

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.