Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $63.92, but opened at $61.02. Willis Lease Finance shares last traded at $59.6980, with a volume of 11,579 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WLFC. Weiss Ratings upgraded Willis Lease Finance from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Freedom Capital cut Willis Lease Finance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Lease Finance presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Willis Lease Finance Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $70.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.89. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $194.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.00 million.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.133 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $0.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.28%.

Insider Transactions at Willis Lease Finance

In related news, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.34, for a total value of $1,100,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 435,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,968,025.92. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 53.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at $68,932,000. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $24,747,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Willis Lease Finance by 1,498.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 66,008 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,049,000 after buying an additional 61,878 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter worth $8,073,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $8,495,000. 93.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.