While Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) might not be the most widely known stock at the moment, it received a lot of attention from a substantial price increase on the NYSE over the last few months. As a mid-cap stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. However, what if the stock is still a bargain? Today I will analyse the most recent data on Air Lease’s outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists.
Is Air Lease still cheap?
Great news for investors – Air Lease is still trading at a fairly cheap price according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company’s price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. In this instance, I’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. I find that Air Lease’s ratio of 5.98x is below its peer average of 18.53x, which indicates the stock is trading at a lower price compared to the Trade Distributors industry. What’s more interesting is that, Air Lease’s share price is quite volatile, which gives us more chances to buy since the share price could sink lower (or rise higher) in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market.
Can we expect growth from Air Lease?
Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Though in the case of Air Lease, it is expected to deliver a relatively unexciting earnings growth of 5.2%, which doesn’t help build up its investment thesis. Growth doesn’t appear to be a main reason for a buy decision for the company, at least in the near term.
What this means for you:
Are you a shareholder? Even though growth is relatively muted, since AL is currently trading below the industry PE ratio, it may be a great time to accumulate more of your holdings in the stock. However, there are also other factors such as financial health to consider, which could explain the current price multiple.