Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) Declares $0.25 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• Willis Lease Finance Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, with an ex-dividend date of August 12th and payment scheduled for August 21st, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.7%.
• Shares of WLFC fell by 4.6% to $135.00 on the day of the announcement with a market cap of $1.04 billion and a P/E ratio of 9.25.
• Insider sales included Chairman Charles F. Iv Willis and President Brian Richard Hole, who sold shares recently, indicating a decrease in their ownership stakes in the company.

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 1st, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the transportation company on Thursday, August 21st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th.

Willis Lease Finance has a payout ratio of 6.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Down 4.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:WLFC traded down $6.58 during trading on Friday, reaching $135.00. 73,887 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 77,508. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $139.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.89. Willis Lease Finance has a 52-week low of $85.05 and a 52-week high of $235.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.95, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.17. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Charles F. Iv Willis sold 11,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.95, for a total transaction of $1,529,437.50. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 987,046 shares in the company, valued at $134,188,903.70. This trade represents a 1.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Brian Richard Hole sold 7,295 shares of the firm'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 sale, the president owned 100,760 shares in the company, valued at $14,626,321.60. The trade was a 6.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,895 shares of company stock worth $5,488,698. Company insiders own 53.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Willis Lease Finance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. M3F Inc. grew its stake in Willis Lease Finance by 6.0% during the first quarter. M3F Inc. now owns 534,261 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $84,397,000 after acquiring an additional 30,032 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 511,472 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $106,154,000 after buying an additional 17,500 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 7.3% during the 1st 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 during the period. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 23.6% during the 1st 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 during the period. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 32,643 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $5,157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,867 shares during the period. 93.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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.