Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Stock Price Down 4.1% – Time to Sell?

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC)’s share price was down 4.1% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $48.07 and last traded at $47.88. Approximately 2,196 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 99% from the average session volume of 261,564 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $57.82 and its 200-day moving average is $63.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $192.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.00 million. Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 11.80%. Analysts forecast that Willis Lease Finance Corporation will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a $0.1330 dividend. This is a drop from Willis Lease Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1333. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. Willis Lease Finance’s payout ratio is 13.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Charles F. Iv Willis sold 15,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.11, for a total transaction of $859,716.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 2,492,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,342,000.73. This represents a 0.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott B. Flaherty sold 8,326 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total transaction of $445,940.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 214,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,479,193.44. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 211,700 shares of company stock valued at $12,037,208 in the last three months. 53.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Willis Lease Finance

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Willis Lease Finance in the second quarter valued at $10,423,000. Latash Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,089,000. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at about $24,747,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the 1st quarter valued at about $293,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 39.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the period. 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.