Earnest Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 1,000 Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC)

Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WLFC. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 298 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,188 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,813,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,073 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,468,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the fourth quarter valued at about $104,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 780.8% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 687 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

Willis Lease Finance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WLFC opened at $150.00 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.66. Willis Lease Finance Co. has a one year low of $48.10 and a one year high of $235.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.84, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $990.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 0.79.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The transportation company reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $152.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $145.54 million. Willis Lease Finance had a net margin of 18.56% and a return on equity of 20.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willis Lease Finance news, EVP Scott B. Flaherty sold 5,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $927,297.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,625,315. This trade represents a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 3,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.82, for a total value of $544,479.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 206,644 shares in the company, valued at $32,612,556.08. This trade represents a 1.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,465 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,074 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

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.