Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $148.58 and traded as high as $205.81. Willis Lease Finance shares last traded at $205.24, with a volume of 24,662 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Willis Lease Finance in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Lease Finance presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Up 3.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $170.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.44.

Willis Lease Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Willis Lease Finance’s payout ratio is presently 9.58%.

Insider Activity at Willis Lease Finance

In related news, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.74, for a total transaction of $631,516.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 184,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,314,722.04. This trade represents a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 12,900 shares of company stock worth $1,818,920 in the last three months. 57.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Lease Finance

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLFC. M3F Inc. increased its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 6.1% during the second quarter. M3F Inc. now owns 566,941 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $80,948,000 after acquiring an additional 32,680 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $409,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Willis Lease Finance by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 82,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,796,000 after purchasing an additional 11,745 shares during the period. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC now owns 98,466 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,428,000 after buying an additional 5,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $533,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

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.