Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Stock Moved Down to “Strong Sell” by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WLFC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $80.00 target price on shares of Willis Lease Finance and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Willis Lease Finance in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. UBS Group set a $71.00 price target on shares of 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.50.

Willis Lease Finance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WLFC opened at $45.71 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.76. Willis Lease Finance has a fifty-two week low of $36.39 and a fifty-two week high of $81.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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

Willis Lease Finance Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Willis Lease Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1330. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Lease Finance

In other news, CEO Austin Willis sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total value of $808,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 420,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,685,863.20. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Flaherty sold 8,326 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total transaction of $445,940.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 214,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,479,193.44. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 196,700 shares of company stock worth $10,937,108. 56.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Lease Finance

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted 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 worth $28,858,000 after acquiring an additional 486,959 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the second quarter valued at approximately $68,932,000. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the second quarter valued at approximately $24,747,000. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 195.0% during the third quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 124,554 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,216,000 after purchasing an additional 82,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter worth approximately $16,648,176,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.