Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 19,271 Shares of World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in shares of World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC - Free Report) by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,707 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,271 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of World Kinect worth $4,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of World Kinect during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of World Kinect by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,370,124 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,358,000 after purchasing an additional 22,077 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of World Kinect by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 256,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,918,000 after purchasing an additional 40,233 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in World Kinect in the 3rd quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new stake in World Kinect during the third quarter valued at about $485,000. 97.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

World Kinect Stock Performance

WKC traded up $0.44 on Tuesday, hitting $27.24. The company had a trading volume of 287,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 686,366. World Kinect Co. has a 1-year low of $21.21 and a 1-year high of $31.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company's fifty day moving average price is $28.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.93. The stock has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.28.

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

World Kinect announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, September 9th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 11% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

World Kinect Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. World Kinect's payout ratio is 30.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley cut World Kinect from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered World Kinect from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on World Kinect from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, World Kinect currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.