World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded World Kinect from "hold" to "buy", but coverage remains mixed (1 Buy, 1 Hold, 2 Sell) with a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $29.00.
• Earnings beat and guidance: Q1 EPS came in at $0.75 vs. $0.31 expected and revenue was $9.69B vs. $9.29B, and the company set FY2026 guidance of $2.65–$2.85 EPS (analysts expect $2.83).
• Insider and institutional activity: Chairman Michael Kasbar sold 23,653 shares at about $28.18, while roughly 97% of the stock is held by institutional investors who have recently increased positions.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on WKC. Zacks Research upgraded shares of World Kinect from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of World Kinect from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $29.00.

World Kinect Stock Performance

World Kinect stock opened at $27.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. World Kinect has a 1 year low of $22.21 and a 1 year high of $29.85. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of -2.65, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.22. The company's 50-day moving average is $23.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.85.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.44. World Kinect had a negative net margin of 1.53% and a positive return on equity of 8.27%. The company had revenue of $9.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. World Kinect has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.650-2.850 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that World Kinect will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at World Kinect

In related news, Chairman Michael J. Kasbar sold 23,653 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total value of $666,541.54. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,062,797 shares in the company, valued at $29,949,619.46. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of World Kinect

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of World Kinect by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,713,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,297,000 after acquiring an additional 62,111 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in shares of World Kinect by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 3,845,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,106,000 after acquiring an additional 907,490 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of World Kinect by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,450,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,597,000 after acquiring an additional 213,145 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of World Kinect by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,938,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,426,000 after acquiring an additional 198,076 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of World Kinect by 373.8% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,602,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,598,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,684 shares during the period. 97.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About World Kinect

World Kinect Energy Services, Inc NYSE: WKC is a global energy services company specializing in fuel procurement, supply chain management and risk mitigation solutions. The company offers an integrated platform that facilitates the sourcing, trading and logistics of refined fuels, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and renewable energy products. Its services are designed to help industrial, commercial and institutional clients optimize energy costs, comply with environmental regulations and manage price volatility.

In addition to traditional commodity trading and delivery, World Kinect provides a suite of value-added services that include carbon offset and decarbonization strategies, energy efficiency consulting and emissions reporting.

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