Natixis Advisors LLC Takes Position in World Kinect Corporation (NYSE:WKC)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC has acquired 14,298 shares of World Kinect Corporation (NYSE:WKC), valued at approximately $405,000, highlighting continued interest from institutional investors who own over 97% of the company's stock.
• The stock price target for World Kinect has been adjusted by several research firms, with Raymond James lowering its target to $33.00 and Bank of America reducing it to $26.00, indicating a mixed outlook from analysts.
• World Kinect recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, shifting from its previous $0.17 dividend, which reflects a positive adjustment in its returns to shareholders.

Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new position in World Kinect Corporation (NYSE:WKC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 14,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $405,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of World Kinect by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Eukles Asset Management grew its position in shares of World Kinect by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 7,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of World Kinect during the 4th quarter valued at $224,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of World Kinect during the 4th quarter valued at $242,000. Finally, Syon Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of World Kinect during the 4th quarter valued at $273,000. Institutional investors own 97.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WKC. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of World Kinect from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $35.00) on shares of World Kinect in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of World Kinect from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, World Kinect presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.40.

World Kinect Price Performance

World Kinect stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.33. The stock had a trading volume of 660,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 631,780. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm's 50 day moving average is $27.75 and its 200 day moving average is $27.33. World Kinect Corporation has a one year low of $22.70 and a one year high of $31.70.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $9.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.32 billion. World Kinect had a negative net margin of 1.11% and a positive return on equity of 7.07%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that World Kinect Corporation will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect Increases Dividend

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

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.