Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $36.39 and last traded at $37.07, with a volume of 168,347 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $37.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Willis Lease Finance Stock Down 1.4%

The stock has a market cap of $783.29 million, a PE ratio of 8.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.09.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 11.80% and a return on equity of 14.11%. The firm had revenue of $192.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $175.00 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Willis Lease Finance Corporation will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.1330 per share. This is a drop from Willis Lease Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1333. This represents a $0.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Austin Willis sold 15,000 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total value of $808,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 420,888 shares in the company, valued at $22,685,863.20. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Scott B. Flaherty sold 18,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.57, for a total transaction of $1,020,186.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 222,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,150,010.50. This represents a 7.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 211,700 shares of company stock worth $12,037,208. Company insiders own 53.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WLFC. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Willis Lease Finance by 533.8% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 578,191 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,858,000 after buying an additional 486,959 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter worth about $68,932,000. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter worth about $24,747,000. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC purchased a new stake in Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,648,176,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,423,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

About Willis Lease Finance

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ: WLFC) is an aviation services company that provides commercial aircraft engines, auxiliary power units, and related equipment to airlines, aircraft operators, maintenance providers, and other aviation customers. Its leasing activities include short- and long-term engine leasing, spare engine programs, and the financing and management of aviation assets.

The company also provides engine and component services, including maintenance, repair, and overhaul support; engine refurbishment and modification; parts sales; and technical and asset-management services.