World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

World Kinect Corporation (NYSE:WKC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $36.89 and last traded at $36.44, with a volume of 951280 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $35.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on World Kinect from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of World Kinect from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of World Kinect from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of World Kinect from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.50.

World Kinect Trading Up 1.4%

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $30.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.06. The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a PE ratio of -3.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.75 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 business had revenue of $9.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. World Kinect has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.650-2.850 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that World Kinect Corporation will post 2.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a boost from World Kinect’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. World Kinect’s payout ratio is -9.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at World Kinect

In other World Kinect news, Director Richard A. Kassar sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.97, for a total transaction of $269,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 53,812 shares in the company, valued at $1,451,309.64. This represents a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael John Kroll sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total value of $57,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,390 shares in the company, valued at $283,647. This trade represents a 16.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 132,928 shares of company stock valued at $3,983,065. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WKC. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in World Kinect during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in World Kinect in the third quarter worth about $61,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in World Kinect by 977.9% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 2,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,386 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of World Kinect by 108.8% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 1,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of World Kinect during the second quarter valued at about $96,000. 97.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.