Freedom Capital Upgrades Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Freedom Capital upgraded Willis Lease Finance to “strong buy” from “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “buy” with a $71 target price. UBS also set a $71 target, although Weiss Ratings recently downgraded the stock to “hold.”
• Willis Lease Finance reported quarterly EPS of $1.31, beating the $0.90 consensus estimate, while revenue of $194.02 million exceeded analyst expectations of $175 million.
• Institutional ownership stands at 93.70%, with several investment firms increasing their stakes; separately, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 15,000 shares at an average price of $73.34, reducing his holdings by 3.33%.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Freedom Capital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Willis Lease Finance from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group set a $71.00 target price on shares of Willis Lease Finance in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

Shares of WLFC opened at $57.04 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 0.74. Willis Lease Finance has a 12 month low of $38.00 and a 12 month high of $81.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $70.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.79.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 11.80%.The company had revenue of $194.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.00 million.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.34, for a total value of $1,100,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 435,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,968,025.92. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 53.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Lease Finance

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 780.3% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 33,452 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,537,000 after buying an additional 29,652 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Willis Lease Finance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,462,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 39.3% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the period. Corsair Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 50.0% in the first quarter. Corsair Capital Management L.P. now owns 18,002 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,065,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 93.3% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 36,229 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,168,000 after purchasing an additional 17,484 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.70% of the company's stock.

About Willis Lease Finance

Willis Lease Finance Corporation NASDAQ: WLFC is an independent global provider of aircraft engine leasing, trading and aftermarket services. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in the United States, the company specializes in offering short- and long-term operating leases for jet engines and auxiliary power units. Through its broad engine portfolio, Willis Lease Finance supports a wide range of commercial aircraft across various operators, including major airlines, regional carriers and other leasing companies.

In addition to leasing solutions, Willis Lease Finance offers comprehensive engine trading and asset management services.

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