Eukles Asset Management Takes Position in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC)

Eukles Asset Management bought a new position in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $152,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in World Kinect by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 44,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of World Kinect by 18.3% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC boosted its stake in World Kinect by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 14,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in World Kinect by 154.9% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in World Kinect by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 89,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other World Kinect news, Director Paul H. Stebbins sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.37, for a total transaction of $487,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 75,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,836,888.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on WKC. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of World Kinect from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on World Kinect from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on World Kinect in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.75.

World Kinect Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WKC traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.51. 133,876 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 547,087. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.26. World Kinect Co. has a 1 year low of $17.69 and a 1 year high of $26.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.72.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.04. World Kinect had a return on equity of 6.07% and a net margin of 0.11%. The firm had revenue of $12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that World Kinect Co. will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

World Kinect Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. This is an increase from World Kinect’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. World Kinect’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.95%.

World Kinect 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.