Willis Lease Finance Corporation $WLFC Stock Purchased by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) by 196.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,801 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,444 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Willis Lease Finance were worth $1,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WLFC. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in Willis Lease Finance by 533.8% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 578,191 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,858,000 after buying an additional 486,959 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter valued at $68,932,000. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter valued at $24,747,000. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC purchased a new position in Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter valued at $16,648,176,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the second quarter worth $10,423,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Willis Lease Finance

In other Willis Lease Finance news, EVP Scott B. Flaherty sold 18,695 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.57, for a total transaction of $1,020,186.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 222,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,150,010.50. This trade represents a 7.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Charles F. Iv Willis sold 31,400 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,819,002.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 2,612,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,338,822.99. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 211,700 shares of company stock valued at $12,037,208. 53.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WLFC opened at $38.99 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $49.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.53. The company has a market cap of $823.86 million, a PE ratio of 9.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.73. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a 52-week low of $36.39 and a 52-week high of $81.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $192.83 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Willis Lease Finance Corporation will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a $0.1330 dividend. This is a drop from Willis Lease Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1333. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Willis Lease Finance’s payout ratio is currently 13.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WLFC. Zacks Research raised Willis Lease Finance to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Willis Lease Finance from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $80.00 price target on Willis Lease Finance and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. UBS Group set a $71.00 price target on 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 research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Lease Finance currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.50.

Willis Lease Finance Profile

Willis Lease Finance Corporation is a commercial aircraft engine lessor and aviation services company headquartered in Coconut Creek, Florida. Founded in 1985, the company provides engines and related aviation assets to airlines, aircraft lessors, maintenance providers and other customers worldwide.

Its principal business is leasing spare and in-service commercial aircraft engines, including engines used for narrow-body and wide-body aircraft. Willis Lease Finance also provides engine portfolio management, maintenance and asset management services, and sells or leases aircraft engine parts and related equipment.