Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $63.92, but opened at $61.02. Willis Lease Finance shares last traded at $59.6980, with a volume of 11,579 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WLFC shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

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 fifty day simple moving average of $70.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 0.74.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $194.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $175.00 million. Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 11.80%.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.133 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willis Lease Finance news, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 15,000 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.34, for a total value of $1,100,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 435,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,968,025.92. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 53.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Willis Lease Finance

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLFC. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 780.3% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 33,452 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,537,000 after acquiring an additional 29,652 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,462,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 39.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Corsair Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 50.0% during the first quarter. Corsair Capital Management L.P. now owns 18,002 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,065,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 93.3% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 36,229 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,168,000 after purchasing an additional 17,484 shares in the last quarter. 93.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.