9,285 Shares in Willis Lease Finance Corporation $WLFC Acquired by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 9,285 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,273,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WLFC. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter worth $8,073,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter worth about $5,542,000. M3F Inc. grew its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. M3F Inc. now owns 566,941 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $80,948,000 after purchasing an additional 32,680 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 357.4% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 40,289 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,752,000 after buying an additional 31,480 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Willis Lease Finance by 951.4% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,346 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,904,000 after purchasing an additional 24,745 shares during the period. 93.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Willis Lease Finance

In other news, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.74, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 12,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,818,920 in the last 90 days. 53.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

Shares of WLFC opened at $196.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $161.38 and a 200-day moving average of $145.76. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a one year low of $114.01 and a one year high of $211.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.44, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Willis Lease Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. Willis Lease Finance’s payout ratio is 9.58%.

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.