World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the four research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.75.

Several analysts have recently commented on WKC shares. Raymond James raised their target price on World Kinect from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on World Kinect in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on World Kinect from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th.

World Kinect Stock Performance

Shares of WKC stock opened at $24.94 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.99 and a 200-day moving average of $22.68. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. World Kinect has a 52 week low of $17.69 and a 52 week high of $26.83.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.04. World Kinect had a net margin of 0.11% and a return on equity of 6.07%. The business had revenue of $12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that World Kinect will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

World Kinect Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. This is an increase from World Kinect’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. World Kinect’s payout ratio is 80.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul H. Stebbins sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.37, for a total value of $487,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 75,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,836,888.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of World Kinect during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in World Kinect by 1,982.1% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in World Kinect during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in World Kinect during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in World Kinect by 154.9% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. 97.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.