Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $36.39 and last traded at $37.07, with a volume of 168,347 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Willis Lease Finance Stock Up 5.8%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $826.43 million, a PE ratio of 9.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.73.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $192.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.00 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Willis Lease Finance Corporation will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a $0.1330 dividend. This represents a $0.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is a drop from Willis Lease Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1333. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.28%.

Insider Transactions at Willis Lease Finance

In other news, CEO Austin Willis sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total transaction of $808,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 420,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,685,863.20. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 211,700 shares of company stock worth $12,037,208 in the last 90 days. 53.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Lease Finance

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 533.8% in the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 578,191 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,858,000 after buying an additional 486,959 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter worth about $68,932,000. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter worth about $24,747,000. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at about $16,648,176,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 34.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 53,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,110,000 after acquiring an additional 13,731 shares during the last quarter. 93.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Willis Lease Finance

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.