Quantbot Technologies LP Boosts Holdings in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC)

Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 101,873 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,127 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in World Kinect were worth $2,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Semanteon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in World Kinect during the fourth quarter worth about $554,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in World Kinect by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 17,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 6,733 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in World Kinect by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,492,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,226,000 after buying an additional 63,234 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in World Kinect during the fourth quarter worth about $801,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in World Kinect by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 24,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $664,000 after buying an additional 6,917 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of World Kinect from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.80.

Insider Activity at World Kinect

In related news, CEO Michael J. Kasbar sold 21,507 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.96, for a total transaction of $622,842.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,019,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,512,064.48. The trade was a 2.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

World Kinect Price Performance

WKC opened at $27.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.63. World Kinect Co. has a twelve month low of $21.38 and a twelve month high of $31.71.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $9.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.57 billion. World Kinect had a net margin of 0.16% and a return on equity of 6.43%. Equities analysts expect that World Kinect Co. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

World Kinect Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. World Kinect’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

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.