World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) Rating Lowered to Underweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley lowered shares of World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $28.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on WKC. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of World Kinect from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of World Kinect from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, World Kinect currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $29.00.

World Kinect Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WKC opened at $30.23 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 32.51, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.06. World Kinect has a twelve month low of $17.69 and a twelve month high of $30.78.

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

World Kinect Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. World Kinect’s payout ratio is 73.12%.

Insider Activity at World Kinect

In other World Kinect news, Director John L. Manley sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.28, for a total transaction of $452,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,614 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,083.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael J. Kasbar sold 58,948 shares of World Kinect stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $28,452,238.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Manley sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.28, for a total value of $452,480.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,614 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,083.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WKC. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of World Kinect in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,262,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in World Kinect in the 4th quarter valued at $2,822,000. Swiss National Bank purchased a new position in shares of World Kinect during the 4th quarter valued at $2,702,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of World Kinect in the fourth quarter worth $455,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN purchased a new stake in shares of World Kinect in the fourth quarter worth $12,179,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.06% of the company’s stock.

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.