Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 91,651 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 39% from the previous session’s volume of 65,980 shares.The stock last traded at $186.4060 and had previously closed at $211.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WLFC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Willis Lease Finance from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Freedom Capital lowered Willis Lease Finance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Lease Finance currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Willis Lease Finance Trading Down 5.2%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $189.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.81.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The transportation company reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $1.01. Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 15.72%.The firm had revenue of $194.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.00 million.

Willis Lease Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.72%.

Insider Activity

In other Willis Lease Finance news, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 3,400 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.55, for a total value of $590,070.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 183,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,842,086.25. This trade represents a 1.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Chairman Charles F. Iv Willis sold 9,727 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.09, for a total value of $1,654,465.43. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 933,234 shares in the company, valued at $158,733,771.06. This represents a 1.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 19,397 shares of company stock worth $3,333,181 in the last three months. Company insiders own 53.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Willis Lease Finance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. M3F Inc. increased its position in Willis Lease Finance by 6.9% during the third quarter. M3F Inc. now owns 606,026 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $83,080,000 after buying an additional 39,085 shares during the last quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC increased its position in Willis Lease Finance by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC now owns 102,259 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,870,000 after buying an additional 3,793 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in Willis Lease Finance by 9.8% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 101,386 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,899,000 after buying an additional 9,052 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in Willis Lease Finance by 15.0% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 92,194 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,639,000 after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Willis Lease Finance by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 73,452 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,965,000 after buying an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

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.