World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Shares of World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $27.60, but opened at $29.70. World Kinect shares last traded at $29.95, with a volume of 242,683 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.05. World Kinect had a net margin of 0.30% and a return on equity of 6.29%. The firm had revenue of $9.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.57 billion.

World Kinect Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. World Kinect’s payout ratio is 30.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of World Kinect from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On World Kinect

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WKC. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of World Kinect in the third quarter valued at about $138,806,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in World Kinect during the fourth quarter worth about $50,707,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in World Kinect by 30.6% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in World Kinect by 639.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 508,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,001,000 after purchasing an additional 440,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EVR Research LP increased 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 worth $19,532,000 after purchasing an additional 440,000 shares during the last quarter. 97.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

World Kinect Trading Up 11.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average is $27.89 and its 200-day moving average is $28.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

World Kinect Company Profile

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.