World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) Downgraded to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of World Kinect (NYSE:WKC - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $32.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $33.00.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of World Kinect from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on World Kinect from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded World Kinect from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.20.

World Kinect Stock Performance

NYSE:WKC traded down $4.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $26.40. The stock had a trading volume of 3,056,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 648,880. World Kinect has a twelve month low of $17.69 and a twelve month high of $31.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.15.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.62. World Kinect had a return on equity of 6.26% and a net margin of 0.29%. The business had revenue of $10.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that World Kinect will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, September 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 11% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

World Kinect Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. World Kinect's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.12%.

Insider Activity at World Kinect

In related news, CEO Michael J. Kasbar sold 58,948 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.92, for a total transaction of $1,645,828.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,019,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,452,238.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael J. Kasbar sold 58,948 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.92, for a total transaction of $1,645,828.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,019,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,452,238.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Manley sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.28, for a total transaction of $452,480.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,083.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On World Kinect

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in World Kinect by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,056,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,637,000 after buying an additional 146,899 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in 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. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in World Kinect by 10.6% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,972,932 shares of the company's stock worth $76,714,000 after purchasing an additional 284,560 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in World Kinect by 12.4% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,358,173 shares of the company's stock worth $35,263,000 after purchasing an additional 149,433 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of World Kinect by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,257,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,440,000 after purchasing an additional 76,700 shares during the last quarter. 97.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.