Insider Selling: World Acceptance Corporation (NASDAQ:WRLD) Director Sells 402 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Charles D. Way of World Acceptance Corporation sold 402 shares at an average price of $160, reducing his ownership by 2.54% to a total of 15,395 shares valued at approximately $2.46 million.
• World Acceptance's recent quarterly earnings showed $0.25 earnings per share, significantly missing analysts' expectations of $2.44, while revenue exceeded forecasts at $132.45 million.
• Wall Street Zen downgraded World Acceptance's stock rating from "strong-buy" to "hold," indicating a shift in analyst sentiment regarding the company's performance.

World Acceptance Corporation (NASDAQ:WRLD - Get Free Report) Director Charles D. Way sold 402 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $64,320.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,463,200. This trade represents a 2.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

World Acceptance Price Performance

WRLD stock traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $160.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 33,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,452. The stock has a market cap of $876.52 million, a PE ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 17.83, a quick ratio of 19.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. World Acceptance Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $104.79 and a fifty-two week high of $177.25. The company's 50 day moving average is $162.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.09.

World Acceptance (NASDAQ:WRLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($2.19). The business had revenue of $132.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.38 million. World Acceptance had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 18.95%. Equities research analysts expect that World Acceptance Corporation will post 14 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of World Acceptance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th.

Institutional Trading of World Acceptance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of World Acceptance by 570.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 369 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of World Acceptance by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,162 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,045,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of World Acceptance by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 64,584 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,262,000 after buying an additional 7,622 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of World Acceptance by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,218 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of World Acceptance by 42.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 30,968 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,482,000 after buying an additional 9,194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.63% of the company's stock.

World Acceptance Company Profile

World Acceptance Corporation engages in consumer finance business in the United States. The company provides short-term small installment loans, medium-term larger installment loans, related credit insurance, and ancillary products and services to individuals. It offers income tax return preparation and filing services; and automobile club memberships.