Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC) Short Interest Up 24.8% in October

Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 134,300 shares, a growth of 24.8% from the October 15th total of 107,600 shares. Currently, 6.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 40,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Willis Lease Finance Price Performance

Shares of WLFC opened at $198.16 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.47. Willis Lease Finance has a 12-month low of $44.07 and a 12-month high of $235.43. The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.04 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.84.

Willis Lease Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Willis Lease Finance’s payout ratio is 7.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Lease Finance

In other news, CFO Scott B. Flaherty sold 1,742 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.22, for a total transaction of $190,261.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,180,723.86. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Charles F. Iv Willis sold 6,483 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.48, for a total value of $716,241.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 942,050 shares in the company, valued at $104,077,684. This trade represents a 0.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,750 shares of company stock valued at $8,617,901 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Lease Finance

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WLFC. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 4.0% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,691 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 14.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,887 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Willis Lease Finance by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,869 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,204,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.70% 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.