Allianz Asset Management GmbH Lowers Stock Position in World Kinect Corporation (NYSE:WKC)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH reduced its stake in World Kinect Corporation by 32.6%, owning 115,881 shares worth approximately $3.29 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• World Kinect recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.20, representing a 2.83% yield, up from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.17.
• Bank of America has set a new price target of $26.00 for World Kinect, down from the previous $27.00, with an "underperform" rating.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH cut its position in World Kinect Corporation (NYSE:WKC - Free Report) by 32.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,881 shares of the company's stock after selling 56,147 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned 0.20% of World Kinect worth $3,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in World Kinect by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in World Kinect by 64.6% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 17,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 6,733 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in World Kinect by 49.9% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 32,860 shares of the company's stock valued at $904,000 after acquiring an additional 10,944 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in World Kinect by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 42,448 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 5,861 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in World Kinect by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 32,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 947 shares during the period. 97.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WKC shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down from $35.00) on shares of World Kinect in a research note on Friday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of World Kinect from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.80.

World Kinect Stock Down 7.2%

NYSE WKC traded down $1.95 on Friday, hitting $25.32. 1,369,686 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 490,405. The company has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of -3.32, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.40. World Kinect Corporation has a 12 month low of $22.70 and a 12 month high of $31.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.20 and a 200-day moving average of $27.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. World Kinect had a negative net margin of 1.11% and a positive return on equity of 6.73%. The firm had revenue of $9.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.32 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that World Kinect Corporation will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

World Kinect Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. 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. World Kinect's payout ratio is 333.33%.

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.