Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 8,764 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,819,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WLFC. Truist Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the fourth quarter worth $208,000. Lakewood Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the fourth quarter worth $257,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the third quarter worth $283,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the fourth quarter valued at $297,000. 93.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Down 1.6 %

Willis Lease Finance stock opened at $182.96 on Friday. Willis Lease Finance Co. has a 1-year low of $48.10 and a 1-year high of $235.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $190.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.84.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The transportation company reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.92. Willis Lease Finance had a net margin of 18.56% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The firm had revenue of $152.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.54 million.

Willis Lease Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Lease Finance

In related news, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 3,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.14, for a total transaction of $704,283.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 158,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,261,060.76. This trade represents a 2.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

About Willis Lease Finance

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.