World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $29.00 to $32.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. 1,340,409 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 135% from the previous session’s volume of 571,380 shares.The stock last traded at $31.30 and had previously closed at $30.85.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of World Kinect from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on World Kinect from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, 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 note on Monday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, World Kinect currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other World Kinect news, CEO Michael J. Kasbar sold 58,948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,019,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,452,238.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other World Kinect news, CEO Michael J. Kasbar sold 58,948 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,019,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,452,238.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $452,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,083.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of World Kinect during the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,000. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in World Kinect during the fourth quarter worth approximately $96,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in World Kinect in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $148,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in shares of World Kinect by 20.7% in the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Privium Fund Management UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of World Kinect during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.06% of the company’s stock.

World Kinect Stock Up 1.8 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 33.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.98 billion. World Kinect had a net margin of 0.29% and a return on equity of 6.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that World Kinect Co. will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

World Kinect Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. World Kinect’s payout ratio is 73.12%.

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.