Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Holdings in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,561,236 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 116,454 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.89% of Air Lease worth $316,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Air Lease in the 4th quarter valued at $49,415,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Air Lease by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,800,723 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $134,332,000 after buying an additional 842,780 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Air Lease during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,414,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Air Lease by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,226,921 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $155,570,000 after buying an additional 389,070 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Air Lease by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,384,230 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $259,574,000 after buying an additional 362,585 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AL. Bank of America lowered Air Lease from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $72.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group set a $50.00 target price on Air Lease in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Lease has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.67.

Air Lease Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE AL traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $45.84. 894,228 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 760,941. The company has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Air Lease Co. has a 52 week low of $38.25 and a 52 week high of $52.31. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $45.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.73.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.44. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.01% and a net margin of 15.65%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.43%.

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.