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

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

Willis Lease Finance Trading Down 1.7%

Willis Lease Finance stock opened at $54.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 0.74. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a one year low of $38.00 and a one year high of $81.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $70.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.60.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $194.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a $0.133 dividend. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. Willis Lease Finance’s payout ratio is 13.28%.

Institutional Trading of Willis Lease Finance

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter worth approximately $68,932,000. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC bought a new position in Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter worth $24,747,000. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC bought a new position in Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter worth $16,648,176,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Willis Lease Finance by 1,498.3% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 66,008 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,049,000 after purchasing an additional 61,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,073,000. Institutional investors own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WLFC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Freedom Capital upgraded Willis Lease Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating 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 report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, UBS Group set a $71.00 target price on shares of Willis Lease Finance in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Willis Lease Finance Company Profile

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.