Insider Selling: Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) EVP Sells 18,695 Shares of Stock

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) EVP Scott Flaherty sold 18,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.57, for a total value of $1,020,186.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 222,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,150,010.50. This represents a 7.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Willis Lease Finance Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Willis Lease Finance stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $54.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 150,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 268,881. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a 1-year low of $38.00 and a 1-year high of $81.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $64.17 and a 200 day moving average of $64.22. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $192.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.00 million. Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 11.80%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Willis Lease Finance Corporation will post 5.15 EPS for the current year.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Lease Finance

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WLFC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the second quarter valued at approximately $68,932,000. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter valued at approximately $24,747,000. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter worth approximately $16,648,176,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 34.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 53,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,110,000 after buying an additional 13,731 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 76.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 38,438 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,544,000 after buying an additional 16,633 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on WLFC shares. UBS Group set a $71.00 price target on shares of Willis Lease Finance in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $80.00 target price on shares of Willis Lease Finance and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Willis Lease Finance to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Willis Lease Finance presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.50.

Willis Lease Finance Company Profile

Willis Lease Finance Corporation is an aviation services company that provides commercial aircraft engines, auxiliary power units and related equipment to airlines, aircraft operators and other aviation customers. The company’s leasing activities include short-term and long-term operating leases, as well as engine and equipment financing solutions designed to support fleet operations and maintenance planning.

In addition to leasing, Willis Lease Finance offers engine management, maintenance and asset management services.