Insider Selling: Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC) EVP Sells 1,539 Shares of Stock

Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC) EVP Scott B. Flaherty sold 1,539 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.90, for a total value of $263,015.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,842,686.40. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WLFC traded down $6.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $170.46. 43,519 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 29,939. Willis Lease Finance Co. has a one year low of $48.10 and a one year high of $235.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.84, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.16. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $189.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $186.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 1.11.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The transportation company reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.92. The company had revenue of $152.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.54 million. Willis Lease Finance had a net margin of 18.56% and a return on equity of 20.62%.

Willis Lease Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Lease Finance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 511,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $106,154,000 after buying an additional 17,500 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Willis Lease Finance by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 142,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,493,000 after acquiring an additional 19,078 shares during the last quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Willis Lease Finance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $16,268,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,926 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,941,000 after buying an additional 2,805 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

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.