Insider Selling: Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Chairman Sells $920,504.00 in Stock

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) Chairman Charles Iv Willis sold 16,700 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total transaction of $920,504.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 2,519,143 shares in the company, valued at $138,855,162.16. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ WLFC opened at $54.91 on Thursday. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a 52-week low of $38.00 and a 52-week high of $81.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $69.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.36.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $194.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.00 million. Willis Lease Finance had a net margin of 11.80% and a return on equity of 14.11%.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.133 per share. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Lease Finance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Willis Lease Finance by 27,701.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 750,922 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $171,811,000 after purchasing an additional 748,221 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter worth about $68,932,000. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter worth about $24,747,000. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter worth about $16,648,176,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Willis Lease Finance by 1,498.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 66,008 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,049,000 after acquiring an additional 61,878 shares in the last quarter. 93.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Willis Lease Finance

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.