Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Position in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 30,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WKC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in World Kinect in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in World Kinect in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in World Kinect in the 4th quarter valued at about $142,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in World Kinect in the 4th quarter valued at about $146,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in World Kinect in the 4th quarter valued at about $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at World Kinect

In other news, Director Paul H. Stebbins sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 $1,836,888.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

World Kinect Stock Down 6.8 %

Shares of NYSE WKC opened at $23.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. World Kinect Co. has a 52-week low of $17.69 and a 52-week high of $26.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $25.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.84.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that World Kinect Co. will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

World Kinect Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a $0.17 dividend. This is a positive change from World Kinect’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. World Kinect’s payout ratio is presently 73.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on WKC. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of World Kinect from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of World Kinect in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of World Kinect from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, World Kinect has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.75.

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.