Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $239.91, but opened at $219.48. Willis Lease Finance shares last traded at $217.21, with a volume of 6,724 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WLFC has been the subject of several research reports. Freedom Capital cut shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Willis Lease Finance from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Willis Lease Finance Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.25, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.43. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.01.

Willis Lease Finance’s stock is scheduled to split on Monday, July 20th. The 3-1 split was announced on Tuesday, June 23rd. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Monday, July 6th.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $194.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.00 million. Willis Lease Finance had a net margin of 15.72% and a return on equity of 19.22%.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.0444 per share. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Willis Lease Finance’s payout ratio is presently 9.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Lease Finance

In other news, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 46,656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.90, for a total value of $1,161,578.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,352,664 shares in the company, valued at $33,676,824.72. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 53.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Lease Finance

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 1.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,452 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,283,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Willis Lease Finance by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,700 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the 1st quarter valued at about $563,000. Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at about $223,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 951.4% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,346 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,904,000 after buying an additional 24,745 shares during the period. 93.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Willis Lease Finance

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.