Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $240.03 and last traded at $239.5090, with a volume of 99204 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $226.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WLFC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Freedom Capital cut Willis Lease Finance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Down 1.5%

The stock has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.01.

Willis Lease Finance shares are going to split on Monday, July 20th. The 3-1 split was announced on Tuesday, June 23rd. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Monday, July 6th.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $194.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.00 million. Willis Lease Finance had a net margin of 15.72% and a return on equity of 19.22%.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.0444 per share. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio is 9.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Lease Finance

In other news, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 46,656 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.90, for a total value of $1,161,578.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,352,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,676,824.72. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 53.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLFC. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,452 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,283,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 4.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,700 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the first quarter worth $563,000. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the second quarter valued at $223,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 951.4% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,346 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,904,000 after purchasing an additional 24,745 shares during the period. 93.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.