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 stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $927,297.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 79,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,625,315. This trade represents a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WLFC opened at $167.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.21. Willis Lease Finance Co. has a 52-week low of $48.10 and a 52-week high of $235.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.84.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The transportation company reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 18.56% and a return on equity of 20.62%.

Willis Lease Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Willis Lease Finance’s payout ratio is currently 6.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLFC. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Willis Lease Finance in the fourth quarter valued at $16,268,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 142,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,493,000 after buying an additional 19,078 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 511,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $106,154,000 after acquiring an additional 17,500 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 173.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,990 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,421,000 after acquiring an additional 14,590 shares during the period. Finally, Apis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the fourth quarter worth 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.