World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

World Kinect Corporation (NYSE:WKC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $32.27 and last traded at $32.2850, with a volume of 49169 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WKC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded World Kinect from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of World Kinect from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of World Kinect from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of World Kinect from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $29.50.

World Kinect Trading Up 2.3%

The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.06. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of -3.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.22.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.44. World Kinect had a negative net margin of 1.53% and a positive return on equity of 8.27%. The business had revenue of $9.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. World Kinect has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.650-2.850 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that World Kinect Corporation will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This is a positive change from World Kinect’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. World Kinect’s dividend payout ratio is -7.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Michael John Kroll sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total value of $57,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,647. This represents a 16.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael J. Kasbar sold 23,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total value of $666,541.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,062,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,949,619.46. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 97,928 shares of company stock worth $2,773,265. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On World Kinect

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WKC. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in World Kinect by 373.8% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,602,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,598,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,684 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of World Kinect by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 3,845,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,106,000 after purchasing an additional 907,490 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of World Kinect by 235.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 644,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,879,000 after purchasing an additional 452,462 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of World Kinect by 64.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,042,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,060,000 after purchasing an additional 407,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in World Kinect during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,427,000. 97.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About World Kinect

World Kinect Energy Services, Inc (NYSE: WKC) is a global energy services company specializing in fuel procurement, supply chain management and risk mitigation solutions. The company offers an integrated platform that facilitates the sourcing, trading and logistics of refined fuels, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and renewable energy products. Its services are designed to help industrial, commercial and institutional clients optimize energy costs, comply with environmental regulations and manage price volatility.

In addition to traditional commodity trading and delivery, World Kinect provides a suite of value-added services that include carbon offset and decarbonization strategies, energy efficiency consulting and emissions reporting.