Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $31.41 Million in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 651,619 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $31,414,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.59% of Air Lease at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Air Lease by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 77,940 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,757,000 after purchasing an additional 6,956 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Air Lease in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Air Lease by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 437,545 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $21,094,000 after buying an additional 188,366 shares during the period. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC boosted its stake in Air Lease by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 103,576 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,993,000 after buying an additional 10,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Air Lease during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,127,000. 94.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Air Lease Trading Up 3.8 %

NYSE AL traded up $1.56 on Tuesday, hitting $43.00. 745,824 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 761,994. Air Lease Co. has a twelve month low of $38.25 and a twelve month high of $52.31. The company's 50 day moving average price is $45.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91, 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 (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.44. Air Lease had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 8.01%. Analysts predict that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.