Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Decreases Stake in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC - Free Report) by 7.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 902,847 shares of the company's stock after selling 75,776 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 1.55% of World Kinect worth $27,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WKC. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of World Kinect in the third quarter valued at about $138,806,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of World Kinect in the second quarter valued at about $12,207,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of World Kinect by 10.6% in the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,972,932 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,714,000 after purchasing an additional 284,560 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of World Kinect by 3.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,126,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,471,000 after purchasing an additional 140,314 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of World Kinect by 11.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,133,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,238,000 after purchasing an additional 113,711 shares during the period. 97.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

World Kinect Trading Down 1.2 %

WKC stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.88. 280,331 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 654,567. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.99, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.68. World Kinect Co. has a 12-month low of $20.00 and a 12-month high of $31.70.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62. The firm had revenue of $10.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.77 billion. World Kinect had a net margin of 0.30% and a return on equity of 6.29%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that World Kinect Co. will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, September 9th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 11% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

World Kinect Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. World Kinect's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of World Kinect from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of World Kinect from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $32.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of World Kinect from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of World Kinect from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.20.

World Kinect Company Profile

World Kinect Corporation operates as an energy management company in the United States, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. This segment also offers fuel management, price risk management, ground handling, dispatch services, and trip planning services, such as flight planning and scheduling, weather reports and overflight permits; payment and processing services; and operates a web-based marketplace platform.