Vestcor Inc Lowers Stake in World Kinect Corporation (NYSE:WKC)

Vestcor Inc lessened its position in shares of World Kinect Corporation (NYSE:WKC) by 69.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,354 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,794 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in World Kinect were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in World Kinect by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,067,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,399,000 after acquiring an additional 719,631 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in World Kinect by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,119,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,804,000 after acquiring an additional 216,903 shares during the period. EVR Research LP grew its position in World Kinect by 163.0% during the fourth quarter. EVR Research LP now owns 710,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,532,000 after acquiring an additional 440,000 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in World Kinect by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 702,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,333,000 after acquiring an additional 41,227 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in World Kinect by 118.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 631,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,378,000 after acquiring an additional 342,823 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.06% of the company’s stock.

World Kinect Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of WKC opened at $25.25 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.52. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of -3.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.39. World Kinect Corporation has a 12 month low of $22.70 and a 12 month high of $31.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.11. World Kinect had a positive return on equity of 7.07% and a negative net margin of 1.11%. The company had revenue of $9.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.32 billion. Equities analysts forecast that World Kinect Corporation will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from World Kinect’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. World Kinect’s payout ratio is presently -10.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target (down previously from $35.00) on shares of World Kinect in a research report on Friday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on World Kinect from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two investment 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 presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.80.

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.