LSV Asset Management Grows Stock Holdings in World Kinect Corporation (NYSE:WKC)

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management increased its ownership in World Kinect Corporation by 29.0%, acquiring an additional 348,214 shares, resulting in a total of 1,550,042 shares valued at approximately $43.96 million.
• World Kinect recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.17 to $0.20 per share, reflecting a positive change and an annualized yield of 3.2%.
• Despite beating earnings expectations with $0.59 earnings per share, World Kinect's shares have faced downward pressure, trading down 7.2% recently.

LSV Asset Management lifted its position in World Kinect Corporation (NYSE:WKC - Free Report) by 29.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,550,042 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 348,214 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 2.74% of World Kinect worth $43,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in World Kinect in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in World Kinect by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. Eukles Asset Management boosted its holdings in World Kinect by 17.6% in the first quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 7,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in World Kinect in the fourth quarter valued at $224,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in World Kinect in the fourth quarter valued at $242,000. 97.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

World Kinect Price Performance

World Kinect stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.44. The company had a trading volume of 249,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 709,854. The company has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $27.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.47. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $9.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.32 billion. World Kinect had a negative net margin of 1.11% and a positive return on equity of 7.07%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that World Kinect Corporation will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

World Kinect Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This is a positive change from World Kinect's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. World Kinect's dividend payout ratio is -10.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on WKC shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed 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. Bank of America lowered 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of World Kinect from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.40.

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.