Inspire Investing LLC Makes New $624,000 Investment in Willis Lease Finance Corporation $WLFC

Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 12,497 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $624,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Willis Lease Finance by 299.4% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,922 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,940 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in Willis Lease Finance in the 1st quarter worth about $220,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter worth about $229,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Willis Lease Finance in the 1st quarter worth about $293,000. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Willis Lease Finance in the second quarter valued at about $321,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

Willis Lease Finance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WLFC opened at $41.60 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $36.39 and a 52 week high of $81.54. The firm has a market cap of $879.01 million, a PE ratio of 10.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $48.29 and its 200-day moving average is $60.87.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $192.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.00 million. Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 11.80%. Sell-side analysts predict that Willis Lease Finance Corporation will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Austin Willis sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total value of $808,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 420,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,685,863.20. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles F. Iv Willis sold 31,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 2,612,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,338,822.99. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 211,700 shares of company stock valued at $12,037,208. 53.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.