Vest Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 59,221 World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC)

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 59,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,680,000. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.10% of World Kinect at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in World Kinect by 3,742.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 35,308 shares of the company's stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 34,389 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of World Kinect during the 4th quarter worth $1,725,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of World Kinect by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 20,252 shares of the company's stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in World Kinect in the fourth quarter valued at $505,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in World Kinect by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 61,265 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,685,000 after acquiring an additional 11,640 shares during the last quarter. 97.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

World Kinect Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of WKC stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $28.59. The company had a trading volume of 298,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 774,897. The company has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.16. World Kinect Co. has a twelve month low of $22.71 and a twelve month high of $31.71. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $25.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.44.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.03. World Kinect had a net margin of 0.16% and a return on equity of 6.43%. The company had revenue of $9.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. World Kinect's revenue for the quarter was down 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that World Kinect Co. 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 will be paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is an increase from World Kinect's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. World Kinect's payout ratio is 283.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WKC shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on World Kinect from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of World Kinect from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

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.