Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

WLFC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Freedom Capital raised shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group set a $71.00 price target on shares of Willis Lease Finance in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Willis Lease Finance in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $80.00 price target on shares of Willis Lease Finance and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Willis Lease Finance currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.50.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

WLFC opened at $45.71 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $47.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45. Willis Lease Finance has a 12-month low of $36.39 and a 12-month high of $81.54.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The transportation company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.60). Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 9.38%. The business had revenue of $243.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.43 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Willis Lease Finance will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Lease Finance

In other news, Chairman Charles F. Iv Willis sold 15,600 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.11, for a total transaction of $859,716.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 2,492,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,342,000.73. The trade was a 0.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Austin Willis sold 15,000 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total transaction of $808,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 420,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,685,863.20. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 196,700 shares of company stock valued at $10,937,108 in the last 90 days. 56.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLFC. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 2,071.4% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 608 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $229,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the 1st quarter worth approximately $220,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $321,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at $343,000. Institutional investors own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

About Willis Lease Finance

Willis Lease Finance Corporation is an aviation services company specializing in the leasing and servicing of commercial aircraft engines. Founded in 1985, the company provides engines and related equipment to airlines, aircraft operators and maintenance providers. Its activities include leasing aircraft engines and auxiliary power units, trading engines and parts, and providing aviation maintenance and repair services. Willis Lease Finance also manages engine and equipment portfolios for customers.