LSV Asset Management Acquires Shares of 10,780 Willis Lease Finance Corporation $WLFC

LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 10,780 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,462,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC boosted its position in Willis Lease Finance by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC now owns 98,466 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,428,000 after buying an additional 5,035 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. bought a new position in Willis Lease Finance in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,273,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the 4th quarter worth $2,958,000. M3F Inc. boosted its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. M3F Inc. now owns 606,026 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $83,080,000 after purchasing an additional 39,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 780.3% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 33,452 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,537,000 after purchasing an additional 29,652 shares during the last quarter. 93.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:WLFC opened at $185.32 on Thursday. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a 12-month low of $114.01 and a 12-month high of $239.44. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.05.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The transportation company reported $4.03 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $194.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.00 million.

Willis Lease Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Willis Lease Finance’s payout ratio is currently 9.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Freedom Capital lowered Willis Lease Finance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Willis Lease Finance from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Lease Finance presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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 transaction of $590,070.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 183,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,842,086.25. The trade was a 1.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $170.09, for a total value of $1,654,465.43. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 933,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,733,771.06. This represents a 1.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,397 shares of company stock worth $3,333,181. Corporate insiders own 53.32% of the company’s stock.

Willis Lease Finance Company Profile

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.