Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Chairman Sells $735,345.00 in Stock

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) Chairman Charles Iv Willis sold 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.47, for a total value of $735,345.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 2,535,843 shares in the company, valued at $138,127,368.21. The trade was a 0.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

Shares of Willis Lease Finance stock traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $55.15. The company had a trading volume of 194,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 277,651. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.49. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a 12-month low of $38.00 and a 12-month high of $81.54.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.41. Willis Lease Finance had a net margin of 11.80% and a return on equity of 14.11%. The company had revenue of $194.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $175.00 million.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Willis Lease Finance

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Willis Lease Finance from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Freedom Capital upgraded Willis Lease Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group set a $71.00 price objective on Willis Lease Finance in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Lease Finance has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.00.

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.