Austin Chandler Willis Sells 3,400 Shares of Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Stock

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.55, for a total transaction of $590,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 183,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,842,086.25. This trade represents a 1.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Monday, February 2nd, Austin Chandler Willis sold 3,400 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.74, for a total transaction of $631,516.00.

Willis Lease Finance Price Performance

NASDAQ WLFC opened at $175.89 on Friday. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a twelve month low of $114.01 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.08, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 3.86.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The transportation company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.38 by ($1.86). Willis Lease Finance had a net margin of 15.38% and a return on equity of 18.00%. The firm had revenue of $193.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.00 million.

Willis Lease Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. Willis Lease Finance’s payout ratio is 10.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Willis Lease Finance in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Willis Lease Finance has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Trading of Willis Lease Finance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. M3F Inc. grew its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 6.9% during the third quarter. M3F Inc. now owns 606,026 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $83,080,000 after purchasing an additional 39,085 shares during the period. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC now owns 102,259 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,870,000 after buying an additional 3,793 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 101,386 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,899,000 after acquiring an additional 9,052 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 92,194 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,639,000 after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Willis Lease Finance by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 73,452 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,965,000 after acquiring an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. 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.