Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) CEO Austin Chandler Willis Sells 15,000 Shares

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) CEO Austin Willis sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total transaction of $808,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 420,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,685,863.20. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Austin Chandler Willis also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 3rd, Austin Willis sold 15,000 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.34, for a total transaction of $1,100,100.00.
• On Wednesday, July 1st, Austin Willis sold 15,552 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $1,161,578.88.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

Shares of WLFC stock opened at $55.51 on Friday. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a one year low of $38.00 and a one year 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Willis Lease Finance

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 27,701.6% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at $360,000. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter worth $562,000. Susquehanna Advisors Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter worth $1,185,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter worth $526,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WLFC shares. Freedom Capital raised Willis Lease Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report 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. Finally, UBS Group set a $71.00 price objective on Willis Lease Finance in a research note 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Willis Lease Finance currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Willis Lease Finance Company Profile

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.