Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $130.99, but opened at $136.99. Willis Lease Finance shares last traded at $135.26, with a volume of 613 shares.

Willis Lease Finance Trading Up 2.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $889.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $168.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.28. 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 (NASDAQ:WLFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The transportation company reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.92. The company had revenue of $152.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.54 million. Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 18.56%.

Willis Lease Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio is 6.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 3,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.82, for a total value of $544,479.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 206,644 shares in the company, valued at $32,612,556.08. This represents a 1.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Scott B. Flaherty sold 5,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total transaction of $927,297.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 79,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,625,315. This represents a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,465 shares of company stock worth $2,439,074. Corporate insiders own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Willis Lease Finance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLFC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Willis Lease Finance by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 511,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $106,154,000 after purchasing an additional 17,500 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Willis Lease Finance by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 142,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,493,000 after purchasing an additional 19,078 shares during the last quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the 4th quarter worth $16,268,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 67,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,975,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Willis Lease Finance by 7.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,926 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,941,000 after acquiring an additional 2,805 shares during the period. 93.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.