Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Increases Position in Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. grew its stake in Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC - Free Report) by 9.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,643 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 2,867 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. owned approximately 0.49% of Willis Lease Finance worth $5,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Willis Lease Finance by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 298 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Willis Lease Finance by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,622 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 5,783 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 643 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Willis Lease Finance by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,188 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,813,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Willis Lease Finance from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 3,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total transaction of $483,034.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 196,181 shares in the company, valued at $27,467,301.81. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Brian Richard Hole sold 7,295 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.16, for a total transaction of $1,058,942.20. Following the transaction, the president owned 100,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,626,321.60. This represents a 6.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,895 shares of company stock valued at $5,488,698 over the last ninety days. 53.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Willis Lease Finance Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:WLFC traded up $6.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $141.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 346,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,050. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.95. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a 12 month low of $67.58 and a 12 month high of $235.43. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $140.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $166.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 1.04.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The transportation company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($2.20). Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 19.69% and a net margin of 17.21%. The firm had revenue of $157.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $149.00 million.

Willis Lease Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Willis Lease Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.85%.

Willis Lease Finance 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.