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Air Lease (AL) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?

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Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. But when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.

Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, dividends. A dividend is the distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders; it's often viewed by its dividend yield, a metric that measures a dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.

Air Lease in Focus

Based in Los Angeles, Air Lease (AL - Free Report) is in the Transportation sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -1.41%. Currently paying a dividend of $0.2 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.11%. In comparison, the Transportation - Equipment and Leasing industry's yield is 2.04%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.78%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.80 is up 6% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Air Lease has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 13.78%. Any future dividend growth will depend on both earnings growth and the company's payout ratio; a payout ratio is the proportion of a firm's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Air Lease's current payout ratio is 19%, meaning it paid out 19% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for AL for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 is $4.77 per share, with earnings expected to increase 484.68% from the year ago period.

Bottom Line

From greatly improving stock investing profits and reducing overall portfolio risk to providing tax advantages, investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons. However, not all companies offer a quarterly payout.

Big, established firms that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options, but it's fairly uncommon to see high-growth businesses or tech start-ups offer their stockholders a dividend. Income investors must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, AL is a compelling investment opportunity. Not only is it a strong dividend play, but the stock currently sits at a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold).


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