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

Posted by Geri Gentry on Aug 13th, 2026

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC – Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Freedom Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on WLFC. UBS Group set a $71.00 price objective on Willis Lease Finance in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings lowered Willis Lease Finance from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Read Our Latest Analysis on WLFC

Willis Lease Finance Price Performance

NASDAQ:WLFC opened at $57.04 on Wednesday. Willis Lease Finance has a 52 week low of $38.00 and a 52 week high of $81.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $70.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.79.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $194.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.00 million. Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 11.80%.

Insider Transactions at Willis Lease Finance

In other Willis Lease Finance news, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 15,000 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.34, for a total transaction of $1,100,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 435,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,968,025.92. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 53.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Lease Finance

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WLFC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Willis Lease Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at about $68,932,000. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Willis Lease Finance in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $24,747,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 101,386 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,899,000 after purchasing an additional 9,052 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 92,194 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,639,000 after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 73,452 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,965,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. 93.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Lease Finance Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.