Squarepoint Ops LLC Cuts Position in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC)

Squarepoint Ops LLC decreased its position in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC - Free Report) by 76.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,392 shares of the company's stock after selling 36,816 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in World Kinect were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in World Kinect in the 4th quarter valued at $8,913,000. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of World Kinect by 12.4% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,358,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,263,000 after buying an additional 149,433 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of World Kinect by 2.1% in the first 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake 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 worth $106,471,000 after buying an additional 140,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in World Kinect during the fourth quarter worth about $2,822,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WKC has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on World Kinect from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on World Kinect from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded World Kinect from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $28.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, World Kinect presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.40.

World Kinect Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of WKC traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $30.75. 554,002 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 630,624. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's 50-day moving average is $28.84 and its 200-day moving average is $26.75. World Kinect Co. has a fifty-two week low of $17.69 and a fifty-two week high of $31.70.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.08). World Kinect had a net margin of 0.29% and a return on equity of 6.26%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that World Kinect Co. will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 9th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 11% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

World Kinect Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. World Kinect's dividend payout ratio is currently 73.12%.

About World Kinect

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.