World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) Short Interest Update

World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,150,000 shares, a decrease of 18.8% from the December 15th total of 6,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 838,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.1 days. Approximately 9.2% of the company's shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WKC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of World Kinect from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of World Kinect from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.20.

World Kinect Trading Down 0.8 %

WKC traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $27.99. 175,038 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 503,212. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $27.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. World Kinect has a 1-year low of $21.21 and a 1-year 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 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.62. World Kinect had a net margin of 0.30% and a return on equity of 6.29%. The company had revenue of $10.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that World Kinect will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. World Kinect's payout ratio is 30.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On World Kinect

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in World Kinect by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 70,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in World Kinect in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in World Kinect by 3,600.0% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of World Kinect by 20.7% during the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,927 shares of the company's stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in World Kinect by 5.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 30,255 shares of the company's stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares during the last quarter. 97.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.