Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

WLFC has been the topic of several other reports. Freedom Capital raised shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $80.00 price target on Willis Lease Finance and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group set a $71.00 price target on Willis Lease Finance in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Willis Lease Finance from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Willis Lease Finance currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.50.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

Shares of WLFC stock opened at $56.19 on Wednesday. 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 has a 52 week low of $38.00 and a 52 week high of $81.54. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.49. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.72.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 $192.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.00 million. On average, analysts expect that Willis Lease Finance will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willis Lease Finance news, Chairman Charles Willis, IV sold 31,400 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,819,002.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 2,612,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,338,822.99. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Austin Willis sold 15,552 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $1,161,578.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 450,888 shares in the company, valued at $33,676,824.72. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 197,252 shares of company stock valued at $11,565,300. 53.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Willis Lease Finance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Willis Lease Finance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 742.5% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 337 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 197.9% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 694 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main bought a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the second quarter valued at $109,000. Institutional investors own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

About Willis Lease Finance

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.