World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $31.34, but opened at $27.50. World Kinect shares last traded at $28.62, with a volume of 461,997 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on WKC shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of World Kinect from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered World Kinect from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $33.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on World Kinect from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded World Kinect from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $28.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, World Kinect presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.20.

World Kinect Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.62. The company had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.77 billion. World Kinect had a return on equity of 6.26% and a net margin of 0.29%. World Kinect’s quarterly revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that World Kinect Co. will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. World Kinect’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.12%.

World Kinect announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, September 9th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 11% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at World Kinect

In other World Kinect news, Director John L. Manley sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.28, for a total transaction of $452,480.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,403,083.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other World Kinect news, Director John L. Manley sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,614 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,083.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Kasbar sold 58,948 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,019,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,452,238.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On World Kinect

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in World Kinect during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $65,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of World Kinect in the fourth quarter valued at about $148,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of World Kinect in the third quarter worth about $210,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of World Kinect by 20.7% during the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in World Kinect in the third quarter valued at approximately $253,000. 97.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.