Charles Iv Willis Sells 13,500 Shares of Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Stock

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) Chairman Charles Iv Willis sold 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.47, for a total value of $735,345.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 2,535,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,127,368.21. This represents a 0.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Willis Lease Finance Price Performance

WLFC opened at $54.62 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.48 and a 200 day moving average of $65.42. The stock has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a 52-week low of $38.00 and a 52-week high of $81.54.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.41. Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 11.80%.The business had revenue of $194.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.00 million.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a $0.133 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $0.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WLFC shares. UBS Group set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Willis Lease Finance in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $71.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Lease Finance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 27,701.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 750,922 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $171,811,000 after buying an additional 748,221 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the second quarter worth about $360,000. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the second quarter worth about $562,000. Susquehanna Advisors Group Inc. bought a new position in Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,185,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter worth about $526,000. Institutional investors own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

About Willis Lease Finance

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ: WLFC) is an independent global provider of aircraft engine leasing, trading and aftermarket services. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in the United States, the company specializes in offering short- and long-term operating leases for jet engines and auxiliary power units. Through its broad engine portfolio, Willis Lease Finance supports a wide range of commercial aircraft across various operators, including major airlines, regional carriers and other leasing companies.

In addition to leasing solutions, Willis Lease Finance offers comprehensive engine trading and asset management services.