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 the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.51, for a total value of $621,414.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 2,507,743 shares in the company, valued at $136,697,070.93. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Willis Lease Finance Price Performance

NASDAQ WLFC traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $55.11. The company had a trading volume of 89,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 275,057. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.74. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a 52 week low of $38.00 and a 52 week high of $81.54. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.27.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $175.00 million.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLFC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Institutional Trading of Willis Lease Finance

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLFC. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 27,701.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 750,922 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $171,811,000 after acquiring an additional 748,221 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $360,000. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $562,000. Susquehanna Advisors Group Inc. bought a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,185,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter valued at approximately $526,000. 93.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.