Marathon Asset Management Ltd Cuts Position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Marathon Asset Management Ltd lessened its holdings in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 315,857 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 21,051 shares during the quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd owned 0.28% of Air Lease worth $15,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AL. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Air Lease in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 679.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,497 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 1,606.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,651 shares during the last quarter. Factorial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Factorial Partners LLC now owns 84,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,050,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 89,723 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,326,000 after acquiring an additional 5,428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Air Lease Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of AL stock traded up $1.66 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 647,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 677,772. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $47.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.62. Air Lease Co. has a 52 week low of $39.43 and a 52 week 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 company 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AL has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Air Lease in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Lease presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Air Lease 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.