Fly Leasing Ltd. ADR Stock Upgraded (FLY)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Fly Leasing Ltd. ADR (NYSE:FLY) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from sell to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, increase in stock price during the past year and impressive record of earnings per share growth. However, as a counter to these strengths, we find that the company has favored debt over equity in the management of its balance sheet.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• FLY's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 7.2%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 11.1%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
• Compared to where it was a year ago today, the stock is now trading at a higher level, reflecting both the market's overall trend during that period and the fact that the company's earnings growth has been robust. Looking ahead, our view is that this company's fundamentals will not have much impact in either direction, allowing the stock to generally move up or down based on the push and pull of the broad market.
• The gross profit margin for FLY LEASING LTD -ADR is currently very high, coming in at 94.70%. Regardless of FLY's high profit margin, it has managed to decrease from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, FLY's net profit margin of 34.19% significantly outperformed against the industry.
• Current return on equity exceeded its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a clear sign of strength within the company. In comparison to the other companies in the Trading Companies & Distributors industry and the overall market, FLY LEASING LTD -ADR's return on equity is significantly below that of the industry average and is below that of the S&P 500.
• The debt-to-equity ratio is very high at 3.86 and currently higher than the industry average, implying increased risk associated with the management of debt levels within the company.

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Fly Leasing Limited acquires, finances, leases, and sells commercial jet aircraft worldwide. The company leases its aircraft under long-term to medium-term contracts to a group of airlines. The company has a P/E ratio of 7.7, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Fly Leasing Ltd. ADR has a market cap of $374.4 million and is part of the services sector and diversified services industry. Shares are up 18.5% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday.

You can view the full Fly Leasing Ltd. ADR Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

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For more information on Fly Leasing Ltd. ADR click any of the following:

• Fly Leasing Ltd. ADR Stock Price

• Fly Leasing Ltd. ADR Analyst Ratings

• Fly Leasing Ltd. ADR Key Stats & Profile

• Fly Leasing Ltd. ADR Earnings

• Fly Leasing Ltd. ADR Ratio Comparison

• Fly Leasing Ltd. ADR Growth Rates

• Fly Leasing Ltd. ADR Balance Sheet

• Fly Leasing Ltd. ADR Cash Flow

• Fly Leasing Ltd. ADR Income Statement