World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) Hits New 52-Week High at $27.25

World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $27.25 and last traded at $27.21, with a volume of 212879 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of World Kinect from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of World Kinect from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.00.

World Kinect Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.87, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.82.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.98 billion. World Kinect had a return on equity of 6.32% and a net margin of 0.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that World Kinect Co. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. World Kinect’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ken Bakshi sold 10,936 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.07, for a total transaction of $263,229.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,988.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of World Kinect

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WKC. Legato Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of World Kinect by 19.5% during the second quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 47,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,224,000 after buying an additional 7,755 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of World Kinect by 2.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 754,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,473,000 after purchasing an additional 14,754 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of World Kinect by 1.3% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 30,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of World Kinect by 1,182.1% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 49,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 45,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in World Kinect by 12.4% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,358,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,263,000 after acquiring an additional 149,433 shares during the period. 97.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.