Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 63,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,450,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned about 0.11% of World Kinect at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new stake in World Kinect in the 3rd quarter worth about $157,793,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in World Kinect during the 4th quarter valued at $28,874,000. River Road Asset Management LLC bought a new position in World Kinect in the 4th quarter valued at $26,514,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in World Kinect in the 4th quarter valued at $26,375,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in World Kinect in the fourth quarter worth $12,990,000. Institutional investors own 97.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of World Kinect in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on World Kinect from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on World Kinect from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.75.

World Kinect Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WKC traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $24.67. The stock had a trading volume of 276,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 492,506. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $25.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. World Kinect Co. has a one year low of $17.69 and a one year high of $26.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.27.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.23 billion. World Kinect had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 0.12%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that World Kinect Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. This is a boost from World Kinect's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. World Kinect's payout ratio is currently 73.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at World Kinect

In other World Kinect news, Director Paul H. Stebbins sold 20,000 shares of World Kinect stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.37, for a total transaction of $487,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 75,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,836,888.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other World Kinect news, Director Ken Bakshi sold 10,936 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.07, for a total transaction of $263,229.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,545 shares in the company, valued at $999,988.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul H. Stebbins sold 20,000 shares of World Kinect stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.37, for a total transaction of $487,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 75,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,836,888.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

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.