Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Purchases 82,329 Shares of Willis Lease Finance Corporation $WLFC

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lifted its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) by 195.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124,554 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 82,329 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Willis Lease Finance were worth $6,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 533.8% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 578,191 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,858,000 after acquiring an additional 486,959 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at about $68,932,000. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $24,747,000. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,648,176,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 53,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,110,000 after purchasing an additional 13,731 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

Shares of Willis Lease Finance stock opened at $46.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $992.83 million, a PE ratio of 13.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.64. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a one year low of $36.39 and a one year high of $81.54.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The transportation company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.60). Willis Lease Finance had a net margin of 9.38% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The firm had revenue of $243.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.43 million. Research analysts expect that Willis Lease Finance Corporation will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Lease Finance Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a boost from Willis Lease Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1330. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at Willis Lease Finance

In other Willis Lease Finance news, Chairman Charles F. Iv Willis sold 15,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.11, for a total value of $859,716.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 2,492,143 shares in the company, valued at $137,342,000.73. This trade represents a 0.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott B. Flaherty sold 8,326 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total transaction of $445,940.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 214,324 shares in the company, valued at $11,479,193.44. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 196,700 shares of company stock valued at $10,937,108 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 53.32% of the company’s stock.

Willis Lease Finance Company Profile

Willis Lease Finance Corporation is a commercial aircraft engine lessor and aviation services company headquartered in Coconut Creek, Florida. Founded in 1985, the company provides engines and related aviation assets to airlines, aircraft lessors, maintenance providers and other customers worldwide.

Its principal business is leasing spare and in-service commercial aircraft engines, including engines used for narrow-body and wide-body aircraft. Willis Lease Finance also provides engine portfolio management, maintenance and asset management services, and sells or leases aircraft engine parts and related equipment.