Savant Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 1,431 Willis Lease Finance Corporation $WLFC

Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,431 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at about $533,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 29.0% during the second quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 14,191 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,026,000 after buying an additional 3,191 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the first quarter valued at approximately $563,000. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the first quarter valued at approximately $758,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 50,634.3% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 17,757 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,805,000 after acquiring an additional 17,722 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut Willis Lease Finance from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.52, for a total value of $430,168.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 182,663 shares in the company, valued at $23,110,522.76. This trade represents a 1.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 12,200 shares of company stock worth $1,657,187 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 53.85% of the company’s stock.

Willis Lease Finance Price Performance

Shares of WLFC stock opened at $118.52 on Friday. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a 1 year low of $115.21 and a 1 year high of $229.67. The company has a current ratio of 5.98, a quick ratio of 5.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $132.95 and its 200-day moving average is $139.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $807.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 1.10.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The transportation company reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by ($0.09). Willis Lease Finance had a net margin of 18.77% and a return on equity of 21.75%. The company had revenue of $154.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.00 million.

Willis Lease Finance Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This is an increase from Willis Lease Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.58%.

Willis Lease Finance Profile

Willis Lease Finance Corporation operates as a lessor and servicer of commercial aircraft and aircraft engines worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Leasing and Related Operations, and Spare Parts Sales. The Leasing and Related Operations segment engages in acquiring and leasing commercial aircraft, aircraft engines, and other aircraft equipment, as well as the purchase and resale of commercial aircraft engines and other aircraft equipment, and other related businesses.