Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Buys 54,997 Shares of World Kinect Corporation $WKC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC significantly increased its stake in World Kinect Corporation by 748.1% during the first quarter, owning approximately 0.11% of the company, valued at $1.77 million.
• World Kinect recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.20 per share, raising its annualized yield to 3.1%, despite a negative payout ratio.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings beat analysts' expectations, reporting $0.59 earnings per share against a consensus estimate of $0.48, though revenue fell short at $9.04 billion compared to expectations of $9.32 billion.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in shares of World Kinect Corporation (NYSE:WKC - Free Report) by 748.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 62,349 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 54,997 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned 0.11% of World Kinect worth $1,768,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of World Kinect by 94.5% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 33,372 shares of the company's stock worth $946,000 after buying an additional 16,211 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of World Kinect in the 1st quarter worth about $405,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of World Kinect in the 1st quarter worth about $490,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of World Kinect in the 1st quarter worth about $310,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of World Kinect in the 4th quarter worth about $1,725,000. 97.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WKC. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of World Kinect from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 price target (down from $35.00) on shares of World Kinect in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on World Kinect from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, World Kinect currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $29.40.

World Kinect Price Performance

Shares of WKC traded up $0.8830 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.7030. 556,841 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 703,708. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.54 and a 200-day moving average of $27.27. World Kinect Corporation has a one year low of $22.70 and a one year high of $31.70. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.50, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.39. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $9.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.32 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that World Kinect Corporation will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a boost from World Kinect's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. World Kinect's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.