Morgan Stanley Cuts World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) Price Target to $26.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has lowered the price target for World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) from $32.00 to $26.00, maintaining an "underweight" rating on the stock.
• Raymond James Financial has rated the stock as "outperform," with a revised price target of $33.00, indicating mixed analyst sentiments surrounding the company.
• During recent trading, World Kinect's shares increased by 0.2%, bringing the stock price to $24.90, while the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $29.40.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $32.00 to $26.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price suggests a potential upside of 4.41% from the company's previous close.

WKC has been the subject of several other research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $35.00) on shares of World Kinect in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America decreased their target price on World Kinect from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.40.

World Kinect Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of WKC traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.90. 234,686 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 711,345. World Kinect has a 1-year low of $22.70 and a 1-year high of $31.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of -3.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $28.10 and a 200 day moving average of $27.50.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.11. World Kinect had a negative net margin of 1.11% and a positive return on equity of 7.07%. The firm had revenue of $9.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.32 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that World Kinect will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of World Kinect

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WKC. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in World Kinect by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,067,946 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,399,000 after purchasing an additional 719,631 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in World Kinect by 29.0% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,550,042 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,959,000 after acquiring an additional 348,214 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in World Kinect by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,119,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,804,000 after acquiring an additional 216,903 shares during the period. EVR Research LP increased its stake in World Kinect by 163.0% during the fourth quarter. EVR Research LP now owns 710,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,532,000 after acquiring an additional 440,000 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of World Kinect by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 702,751 shares of the company's stock worth $19,333,000 after acquiring an additional 41,227 shares in the last quarter. 97.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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