Insider Selling: Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Chairman Sells $1,819,002.00 in Stock

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) Chairman Charles Iv Willis sold 31,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,819,002.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 2,612,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,338,822.99. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

Willis Lease Finance stock opened at $54.37 on Friday. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a twelve month low of $38.00 and a twelve month high of $81.54. 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 market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.84 and its 200 day moving average is $65.52.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.41. Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 11.80%.The business 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.133 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.28%.

Institutional Trading of Willis Lease Finance

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the second quarter worth $360,000. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter valued at $562,000. Susquehanna Advisors Group Inc. bought a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,185,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter worth about $526,000. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter worth about $229,000. Institutional investors own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLFC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Willis Lease Finance in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average 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.