World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) Shares Gap Down to $24.69

World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $24.69, but opened at $22.09. World Kinect shares last traded at $21.85, with a volume of 212,652 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WKC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on World Kinect in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on World Kinect from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on World Kinect from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.75.

World Kinect Trading Down 6.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $25.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.84.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.23 billion. World Kinect had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 0.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that World Kinect Co. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This is a boost from World Kinect’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. World Kinect’s payout ratio is 73.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other World Kinect news, Director Paul H. Stebbins sold 20,000 shares of World Kinect stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 75,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,836,888.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On World Kinect

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in shares of World Kinect during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,843,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of World Kinect during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,421,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of World Kinect during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,584,000. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of World Kinect during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $796,000. Finally, CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of World Kinect during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,594,000. 97.06% of the stock is 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.