World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) Receives $26.75 Average Price Target from Analysts

World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the four ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.75.

A number of research firms recently commented on WKC. Raymond James upped their price objective on World Kinect from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America increased their price target on World Kinect from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on World Kinect in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at World Kinect

In other World Kinect news, Director Paul H. Stebbins sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.37, for a total transaction of $487,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 75,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,836,888.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of World Kinect

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of World Kinect in the 3rd quarter worth $157,793,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of World Kinect in the 4th quarter worth $90,585,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of World Kinect in the 4th quarter worth $57,423,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in World Kinect during the 4th quarter worth about $35,957,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in World Kinect during the 4th quarter worth about $28,874,000. Institutional investors own 97.06% of the company's stock.

World Kinect Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WKC traded up $0.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $25.87. 318,510 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 564,138. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.89 and a 200-day moving average of $22.66. World Kinect has a 52-week low of $17.69 and a 52-week high of $26.83.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.04. World Kinect had a return on equity of 6.07% and a net margin of 0.11%. The business had revenue of $12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. Analysts forecast that World Kinect will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is an increase from World Kinect's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. World Kinect's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.95%.

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.