** 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

(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan)

((Padmanabhan.Ananthan@thomsonreuters.com))