Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 830,047 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 69,887 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.75% of Air Lease worth $37,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 53,625 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,429,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Air Lease by 12.6% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,468 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Lease by 11.9% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 4,819 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 20.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,345 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 9,588 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Air Lease from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Air Lease in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Lease presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.60.

Air Lease Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of AL stock traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $49.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 189,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 932,341. 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 Co. has a one year low of $39.15 and a one year high of $52.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.61. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $47.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.38.

Air Lease Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from Air Lease's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. Air Lease's payout ratio is presently 20.05%.

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.