45,556 Shares of Willis Lease Finance Corporation $WLFC Purchased by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 45,556 Willis Lease Finance shares worth approximately $10.4 million, joining other institutions that established or expanded positions. Institutional investors collectively own 93.70% of WLFC.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.50. Recent ratings included Deutsche Bank’s $80 target and Freedom Capital’s upgrade to “strong buy.”
• Willis Lease Finance exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.31 EPS versus the $0.90 consensus and revenue of $192.83 million versus $175 million expected. The company reduced its quarterly dividend slightly to $0.1330 per share, while insiders sold about $13.2 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 45,556 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $10,423,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.22% of Willis Lease Finance as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WLFC. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter worth $68,932,000. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC bought a new position in Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $24,747,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter worth approximately $8,495,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 76.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 38,438 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,544,000 after buying an additional 16,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 93.3% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 36,229 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,168,000 after buying an additional 17,484 shares during the last quarter. 93.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WLFC. UBS Group set a $71.00 target price on shares of Willis Lease Finance in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Willis Lease Finance from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $80.00 price target on shares of Willis Lease Finance and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Willis Lease Finance from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Willis Lease Finance to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.50.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Up 2.8%

WLFC opened at $54.33 on Friday. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $38.00 and a fifty-two week high of $81.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $61.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.66. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.72.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $192.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.00 million. Willis Lease Finance had a net margin of 11.80% and a return on equity of 14.11%. On average, analysts anticipate that Willis Lease Finance Corporation will post 5.15 EPS for the current year.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a $0.1330 dividend. This represents a $0.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This is a drop from Willis Lease Finance's previous quarterly dividend of $0.1333. Willis Lease Finance's payout ratio is currently 13.28%.

Insider Transactions at Willis Lease Finance

In related news, Chairman Charles Willis, IV sold 31,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,819,002.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 2,612,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $151,338,822.99. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Flaherty sold 18,695 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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. This trade represents a 7.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 227,252 shares of company stock valued at $13,198,787. Corporate insiders own 53.32% of the company's stock.

About Willis Lease Finance

Willis Lease Finance Corporation is an aviation services company that provides commercial aircraft engines, auxiliary power units and related equipment to airlines, aircraft operators and other aviation customers. The company's leasing activities include short-term and long-term operating leases, as well as engine and equipment financing solutions designed to support fleet operations and maintenance planning.

In addition to leasing, Willis Lease Finance offers engine management, maintenance and asset management services.

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