World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) versus Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Financial Analysis

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) and Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for World Kinect and Equinor ASA, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
World Kinect	2	2	1	0	1.80
Equinor ASA	5	7	4	0	1.94

World Kinect presently has a consensus target price of $29.40, indicating a potential upside of 17.04%. Equinor ASA has a consensus target price of $22.7133, indicating a potential downside of 8.11%. Given World Kinect’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe World Kinect is more favorable than Equinor ASA.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares World Kinect and Equinor ASA”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
World Kinect	$42.17 billion	0.03	$67.40 million	($7.63)	-3.29
Equinor ASA	$103.77 billion	0.70	$8.81 billion	$3.01	8.21

Equinor ASA has higher revenue and earnings than World Kinect. World Kinect is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Equinor ASA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

World Kinect has a beta of 1.39, indicating that its share price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equinor ASA has a beta of 0.59, indicating that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares World Kinect and Equinor ASA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
World Kinect	-1.11%	7.07%	2.02%
Equinor ASA	7.60%	16.91%	5.43%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.1% of World Kinect shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.5% of Equinor ASA shares are held by institutional investors. 3.2% of World Kinect shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Equinor ASA shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

World Kinect pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Equinor ASA pays an annual dividend of $1.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. World Kinect pays out -10.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Equinor ASA pays out 40.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. World Kinect has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years.

Summary

Equinor ASA beats World Kinect on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The Land segment offers fuel, lubricants, heating oil, and related products and services to retail petroleum operators, as well as industrial, commercial, residential and government customers. This segment also provides sustainability solutions, such as renewable fuel products, carbon management, and renewable energy solutions; distributes fuel under long-term contracts to branded and unbranded distributors, convenience stores, and retail fuel outlets operated by third parties; distributes heating oil and unbranded fuel; and transportation logistics. The Marine segment markets fuel, lubricants, and related products and services to international container, dry bulk and tanker fleets, commercial cruise lines, yachts and time charter operators, offshore rig owners and operators, the U.S. and foreign governments, and other fuel suppliers. This segment also offers marine fuel-related services include management services to procurement of fuel, price risk management, cost control, quality control, and claims management services; and engages in the fueling of vessels, and transportation and delivery of fuel and fuel-related products. The company was formerly known as World Fuel Services Corporation and changed its name to World Kinect Corporation in June 2023. World Kinect Corporation was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

About Equinor ASA

Equinor ASA, an energy company, engages in the exploration, production, transportation, refining, and marketing of petroleum and other forms of energy in Norway and internationally. It operates through Exploration & Production Norway; Exploration & Production International; Exploration & Production USA; Marketing, Midstream & Processing; Renewables; and Other segments. The company also transports, processes, manufactures, markets, and trades in oil and gas commodities, such as crude and condensate products, gas liquids, natural gas, and liquefied natural gas; trades in power and emissions; operates refineries, terminals and processing, and power plants; and develops low carbon solutions for oil and gas. In addition, it develops carbon capture and storage projects; provides transportation solutions, including pipelines, shipping, trucking, and rail; and develops and explores for renewable energy, such as offshore wind, green hydrogen, and solar power. The company was formerly known as Statoil ASA and changed its name to Equinor ASA in May 2018. Equinor ASA was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Stavanger, Norway.