Short Interest in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL) Decreases By 10.3%

Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,870,000 shares, a decrease of 10.3% from the September 15th total of 3,200,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 766,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Air Lease from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Air Lease from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Monday, July 29th. They set a "buy" rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Lease currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.75.

Air Lease Stock Performance

Shares of AL traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $45.00. The stock had a trading volume of 402,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 991,754. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 9.07, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.50. Air Lease has a 12 month low of $33.33 and a 12 month high of $52.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.78.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The transportation company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.41). Air Lease had a net margin of 20.85% and a return on equity of 8.97%. The firm had revenue of $667.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.93 million. Analysts anticipate that Air Lease will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Lease

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AL. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Air Lease in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the first quarter worth $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 108.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank boosted its holdings in Air Lease by 33.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 1,775 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. Finally, Monetary Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Air Lease in the 2nd quarter worth $95,000. Institutional investors 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.