World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) Downgraded 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 research report sent to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $28.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on WKC. Bank of America upped their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on World Kinect from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $30.40.

World Kinect Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WKC opened at $30.86 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 33.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.24. World Kinect has a 52 week low of $17.69 and a 52 week high of $30.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $27.62 and its 200-day moving average is $26.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.15.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.08). World Kinect had a return on equity of 6.26% and a net margin of 0.29%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that World Kinect will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

World Kinect Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. World Kinect’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at World Kinect

In other news, CEO Michael J. Kasbar sold 58,948 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.92, for a total transaction of $1,645,828.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,019,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,452,238.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other World Kinect news, 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 transaction of $452,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,083.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Kasbar sold 58,948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.92, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On World Kinect

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in World Kinect during the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,000. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of World Kinect during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in World Kinect during the fourth quarter worth $148,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in World Kinect by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Privium Fund Management UK Ltd bought a new position in World Kinect during the 2nd quarter valued at $208,000. 97.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.