Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Chairman Sells $859,716.00 in Stock

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) Chairman Charles 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 value of $859,716.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 2,492,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $137,342,000.73. This represents a 0.62% 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 the SEC website.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:WLFC opened at $53.42 on Friday. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a 12 month low of $38.00 and a 12 month high of $81.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $68.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.19. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 0.74.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a $0.133 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 742.5% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 337 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter worth $54,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 197.9% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 694 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main bought a new position in Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter worth about $109,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on WLFC. Weiss Ratings downgraded Willis Lease Finance from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group set a $71.00 target price on Willis Lease Finance in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Willis Lease Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.