Yahoo Finance Air Lease (AL) Benefits From Fleet Growth Amid Rising Costs
Air Lease Corporation’s (AL) top line is benefiting from continuous growth in its fleet.
The company recently reported first-quarter 2023 earnings of $1.06 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.00 but declined on a year-over-year basis.
Total revenues of $636.1 million outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $633.5 million and jumped 6% year over year, owing to the continuous growth in the company’s fleet, partially offset by a decline at the end of lease revenues.
Air Lease Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Air Lease Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Air Lease Corporation Quote
Air Lease Rewarding Shareholders Amid Rising Expenses
Total revenues jumped 6% year over year in the first quarter of 2023, owing to the continuous growth in Air Lease’s fleet. The company purchased 60 new aircraft in 2022. As of Mar 31, 2023, Air Lease owned 437 aircraft with a net book value of $25.7 billion. The total fleet size at the end of the first quarter was 899 (including the owned fleet of 437) compared with 900 at the end of December 2022.
The company’s efforts to reward its shareholders are encouraging. Air Lease has an impressive dividend payment history. In November 2022, the company’s board approved a dividend hike of approximately 8.1% to 20 cents per share (annually: 80 cents). This marks the company’s 10th dividend increase since February 2013, when it began distributing dividends. On Apr 28, 2023, Air Lease’s board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 20 cents per share, payable on Jul 7, 2023, to shareholders of record as of Jun 6, 2023.
On the flip side, rising operating expenses pose a threat to the company's bottom line. In first-quarter 2023, operating expenses rose 20.7% to $477.9 million.
Air Lease’s liquidity position is a concern. Cash and cash equivalents of $690.41 million at the end of the first quarter of 2023 was lower than the $19.4 billion of debt financing and net of discount and issuance costs. This implies that the company does not have enough cash to meet its debt burden.
Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider
Air Lease currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors interested in better-ranked stocks from the Zacks Transportation sector can consider Copa Holdings, S.A. CPA and Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK. Copa Holdings sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Alaska Air carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Copa Holdings has an expected earnings growth rate of 52.54% for the current year. CPA delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 33.35%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CPA’s current-year earnings has improved 14.6% over the past 90 days. Shares of CPA have soared 39.9% over the past six months.
Alaska Air has an expected earnings growth rate of 44.83% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALK’s current-year earnings has improved 9.1% over the past 90 days. ALK has a long-term expected growth rate of 24.23%.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Copa Holdings, S.A. (CPA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Air Lease Corporation (AL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
