Scott B. Flaherty Sells 5,026 Shares of Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC) Stock

Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC) EVP Scott B. Flaherty sold 5,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total transaction of $927,297.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,625,315. The trade was a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Willis Lease Finance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WLFC opened at $170.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.84, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.16. Willis Lease Finance Co. has a fifty-two week low of $48.10 and a fifty-two week high of $235.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $188.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.34.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last posted its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.54 million. Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 18.56%.

Willis Lease Finance Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Willis Lease Finance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WLFC. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Willis Lease Finance during the fourth quarter worth about $16,268,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 142,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,493,000 after buying an additional 19,078 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $106,154,000 after buying an additional 17,500 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 173.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,990 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,421,000 after acquiring an additional 14,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,930,000. Hedge funds and other 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.