Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Stock Gets Downgrade from Zacks Research

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on WLFC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Willis Lease Finance in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group set a $71.00 target price on shares of Willis Lease Finance in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $80.00 price target on shares of Willis Lease Finance and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.50.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

Shares of WLFC stock opened at $45.71 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.42. Willis Lease Finance has a 12 month low of $36.39 and a 12 month high of $81.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The transportation company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.60). Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 9.38%. The firm had revenue of $243.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.43 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Willis Lease Finance will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Austin Willis sold 15,000 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total value of $808,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 420,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,685,863.20. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Flaherty sold 18,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.57, for a total value of $1,020,186.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 222,650 shares in the company, valued at $12,150,010.50. The trade was a 7.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 196,700 shares of company stock valued at $10,937,108 over the last ninety days. 56.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Lease Finance

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 2,071.4% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 608 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the period. Carlson Capital L.P. raised its stake in Willis Lease Finance by 436.6% during the third quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. now owns 22,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,098,000 after buying an additional 17,900 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 456.1% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 5,172 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 534.7% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 14,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $700,000 after buying an additional 11,812 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 558.8% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 1,844 shares during the period. 93.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Willis Lease Finance

Willis Lease Finance Corporation is an aviation services company specializing in the leasing and servicing of commercial aircraft engines. Founded in 1985, the company provides engines and related equipment to airlines, aircraft operators and maintenance providers. Its activities include leasing aircraft engines and auxiliary power units, trading engines and parts, and providing aviation maintenance and repair services. Willis Lease Finance also manages engine and equipment portfolios for customers.