Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Willis Lease Finance Corporation $WLFC

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stock position in Willis Lease Finance Corporation by 29.0% in the second quarter, now holding 14,191 shares worth approximately $2,026,000.
• Willis Lease Finance reported a strong quarterly earnings result with an EPS of $8.43, significantly exceeding analyst estimates, and had a net margin of 18.77%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.00 and a yield of 0.7% as of August 21st.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC - Free Report) by 29.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,191 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 3,191 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC owned 0.19% of Willis Lease Finance worth $2,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLFC. M3F Inc. raised its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 6.0% during the first quarter. M3F Inc. now owns 534,261 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $84,397,000 after purchasing an additional 30,032 shares in the last quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 23.6% during the first quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC now owns 96,900 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $15,307,000 after purchasing an additional 18,519 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 50,634.3% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 17,757 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 17,722 shares in the last quarter. Apis Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 112.9% during the first quarter. Apis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 19,800 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,128,000 after purchasing an additional 10,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 7.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 152,536 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $24,096,000 after purchasing an additional 10,436 shares in the last quarter. 93.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

NASDAQ WLFC opened at $136.71 on Tuesday. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a one year low of $124.90 and a one year high of $235.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.53, a quick ratio of 5.55 and a current ratio of 5.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $931.00 million, a PE ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 1.06.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $8.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $5.86. The business had revenue of $195.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.00 million. Willis Lease Finance had a net margin of 18.77% and a return on equity of 21.75%.

Willis Lease Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. Willis Lease Finance's payout ratio is presently 5.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willis Lease Finance news, President Brian Richard Hole sold 9,142 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.13, for a total transaction of $1,372,488.46. Following the sale, the president directly owned 89,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,457,653.20. The trade was a 9.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 3,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.15, for a total transaction of $493,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 189,463 shares in the company, valued at $27,500,554.45. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 47,258 shares of company stock worth $7,211,666. 57.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Willis Lease Finance in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy".

Willis Lease Finance Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.