Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 117,956 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 152% from the previous session’s volume of 46,716 shares.The stock last traded at $144.76 and had previously closed at $143.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Willis Lease Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.84, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.97. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.05.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The transportation company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by ($2.20). Willis Lease Finance had a net margin of 18.56% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The firm had revenue of $157.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.00 million.

Willis Lease Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Willis Lease Finance’s payout ratio is currently 6.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 3,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.82, for a total transaction of $544,479.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 206,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,612,556.08. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Brian Richard Hole sold 2,807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.49, for a total value of $369,092.43. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 110,948 shares in the company, valued at $14,588,552.52. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,165 shares of company stock valued at $5,681,512 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 53.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Willis Lease Finance

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Willis Lease Finance by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 298 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Willis Lease Finance by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,622 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Willis Lease Finance by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 5,783 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Willis Lease Finance by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 643 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,188 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,813,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 93.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Lease Finance Company Profile

Willis Lease Finance Corporation operates as a lessor and servicer of commercial aircraft and aircraft engines worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Leasing and Related Operations, and Spare Parts Sales. The Leasing and Related Operations segment engages in acquiring and leasing commercial aircraft, aircraft engines, and other aircraft equipment, as well as the purchase and resale of commercial aircraft engines and other aircraft equipment, and other related businesses.