Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $136.65 and traded as high as $212.12. Willis Lease Finance shares last traded at $201.99, with a volume of 34,838 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Willis Lease Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Down 5.5 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $201.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.84, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Willis Lease Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Brian Richard Hole sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.31, for a total transaction of $4,066,200.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 81,164 shares in the company, valued at $16,501,452.84. This trade represents a 19.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott B. Flaherty sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.19, for a total transaction of $1,000,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,005,241.45. This represents a 6.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,500 shares of company stock worth $5,164,310 over the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLFC. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Willis Lease Finance in the 3rd quarter valued at $283,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 221.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,738 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 67,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,975,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the third quarter worth about $531,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Willis Lease Finance by 7.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,926 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,941,000 after buying an additional 2,805 shares during the last quarter. 93.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.