World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) Stock Position Lifted by Quest Partners LLC

Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) by 678,100.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,782 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,781 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in World Kinect were worth $210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in World Kinect by 14.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 300,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,286,000 after acquiring an additional 37,482 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in World Kinect by 11.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 454,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,063,000 after acquiring an additional 47,142 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in World Kinect in the third quarter worth approximately $1,990,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in World Kinect in the third quarter worth approximately $586,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in World Kinect in the third quarter worth approximately $76,000. 97.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on WKC shares. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of World Kinect from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $28.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America boosted 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of World Kinect from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. Two research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.20.

World Kinect Stock Performance

Shares of World Kinect stock opened at $29.14 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.55. World Kinect Co. has a 12-month low of $20.00 and a 12-month high of $31.70.

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

World Kinect declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 reacquire up to 11% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

World Kinect Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. World Kinect’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.22%.

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.