Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) EVP Scott Flaherty Sells 2,979 Shares

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) EVP Scott Flaherty sold 2,979 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total value of $167,360.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 241,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,558,762.10. This trade represents a 1.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ WLFC traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $54.31. 150,747 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 268,881. The company’s fifty day moving average is $64.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.22. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $38.00 and a fifty-two week high of $81.54. The stock has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.72.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.41. Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 11.80%.The firm had revenue of $192.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $175.00 million. On average, analysts expect that Willis Lease Finance Corporation will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.133 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $0.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Willis Lease Finance’s payout ratio is 13.28%.

Institutional Trading of Willis Lease Finance

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Willis Lease Finance in the second quarter worth about $68,932,000. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $24,747,000. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,648,176,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,423,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,495,000. 93.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WLFC. UBS Group set a $71.00 target price on shares of Willis Lease Finance in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $80.00 target price on shares of Willis Lease Finance and gave the company 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 research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Willis Lease Finance to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Willis Lease Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.50.

Willis Lease Finance Company Profile

Willis Lease Finance Corporation is an aviation services company that provides commercial aircraft engines, auxiliary power units and related equipment to airlines, aircraft operators and other aviation customers. The company’s leasing activities include short-term and long-term operating leases, as well as engine and equipment financing solutions designed to support fleet operations and maintenance planning.

In addition to leasing, Willis Lease Finance offers engine management, maintenance and asset management services.