Air Lease rises after Citi upgrades to 'buy' on capital allocation opportunities

Citi upgrades aircraft lessor Air Lease Corp to "buy" from "neutral", raises PT to $68 from $45

New PT implies ~16% upside to stock's last close

Shares of AL rise 1.2% to $57.83 premarket

Air Lease has received $559 million in insurance settlements for assets stuck in Russia, which could be used for share buybacks or other opportunities, brokerage says

Adds share buybacks could increase earnings per share by $0.05 for every $100 million spent

However, brokerage considers Air Lease's shares to be less attractive than those of its peers, AerCap AER.N and FTAI FTAI.O, due to their stronger performance and balance sheets

As of last close, AL stock up 18.5% YTD