Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 134,300 shares, a growth of 24.8% from the October 15th total of 107,600 shares. Approximately 6.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 40,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Willis Lease Finance Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WLFC opened at $198.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.04 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $165.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.84, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Willis Lease Finance has a one year low of $44.07 and a one year high of $235.43.

Willis Lease Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.09%.

Insider Activity at Willis Lease Finance

In other news, President Brian Richard Hole sold 1,314 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total value of $139,073.76. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 99,587 shares in the company, valued at $10,540,288.08. The trade was a 1.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott B. Flaherty sold 1,742 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.22, for a total value of $190,261.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,723.86. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 57,750 shares of company stock worth $8,617,901. 57.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,869 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,204,000 after buying an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Willis Lease Finance by 2.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 67,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,975,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Willis Lease Finance by 7.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,926 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,941,000 after acquiring an additional 2,805 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,008 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,912,000 after acquiring an additional 9,326 shares during the period. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,136,000. 93.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

About Willis Lease Finance

Willis Lease Finance Corporation operates as a lessor and servicer of commercial aircraft and aircraft engines worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Leasing and Related Operations, and Spare Parts Sales. The Leasing and Related Operations segment engages in acquiring and leasing commercial aircraft, aircraft engines, and other aircraft equipment, as well as the purchase and resale of commercial aircraft engines and other aircraft equipment, and other related businesses.