Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Chairman Charles Iv Willis Sells 19,300 Shares

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) Chairman Charles Iv Willis sold 19,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.87, for a total transaction of $1,078,291.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 2,565,643 shares in the company, valued at $143,342,474.41. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

Shares of WLFC stock opened at $55.09 on Thursday. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a one year low of $38.00 and a one year high of $81.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $70.22 and a 200-day moving average of $65.64. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $194.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $175.00 million. Willis Lease Finance had a net margin of 11.80% and a return on equity of 14.11%.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.133 per share. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. Willis Lease Finance’s payout ratio is currently 13.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Lease Finance

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at about $68,932,000. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $24,747,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 101,386 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,899,000 after acquiring an additional 9,052 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Willis Lease Finance by 15.0% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 92,194 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,639,000 after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Willis Lease Finance by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 73,452 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,965,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. 93.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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