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 - Free Report) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $32.00 to $26.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on WKC. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 target price (down previously from $35.00) on shares of World Kinect in a research note on Friday, August 1st. 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 research note on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.40.

World Kinect Stock Up 1.0%

World Kinect stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.44. 495,445 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 600,713. World Kinect has a 1 year low of $22.70 and a 1 year high of $31.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.43.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $9.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.32 billion. World Kinect had a positive return on equity of 7.07% and a negative net margin of 1.11%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that World Kinect will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from World Kinect's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. World Kinect's payout ratio is -10.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On World Kinect

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in World Kinect by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,067,946 shares of the company's stock worth $84,399,000 after purchasing an additional 719,631 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in World Kinect by 29.0% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of World Kinect by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,492,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,367,000 after purchasing an additional 20,046 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of World Kinect by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,119,750 shares of the company's stock worth $30,804,000 after purchasing an additional 216,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EVR Research LP grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 440,000 shares in the last quarter. 97.06% of the stock is currently owned by 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.