Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Chairman Charles Iv Willis Sells 11,400 Shares of Stock

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) Chairman Charles Iv Willis sold 11,400 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.51, for a total transaction of $621,414.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 2,507,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $136,697,070.93. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

Shares of Willis Lease Finance stock opened at $55.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.74. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a twelve month low of $38.00 and a twelve month high of $81.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $69.01 and its 200 day moving average is $65.27. 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 (NASDAQ:WLFC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $194.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.00 million. Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 11.80%.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Lease Finance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 4.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,700 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,696 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,848 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Willis Lease Finance by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,144 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Willis Lease Finance by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,783,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 93.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.