World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $31.34, but opened at $27.50. World Kinect shares last traded at $28.62, with a volume of 461,997 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on WKC. Bank of America increased their price target on World Kinect from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered World Kinect from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of World Kinect from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $28.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of World Kinect from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, World Kinect currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.20.

World Kinect Stock Down 10.5 %

The company has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.62. World Kinect had a net margin of 0.29% and a return on equity of 6.26%. The firm had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that World Kinect Co. will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

World Kinect Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. World Kinect’s payout ratio is currently 73.12%.

World Kinect announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, September 9th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 11% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at World Kinect

In other World Kinect news, Director John L. Manley sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.28, for a total transaction of $452,480.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,403,083.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other World Kinect news, CEO Michael J. Kasbar sold 58,948 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.92, for a total transaction of $1,645,828.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,019,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,452,238.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Manley sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.28, for a total value of $452,480.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,403,083.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On World Kinect

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new position in shares of World Kinect during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,207,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its position in shares of World Kinect by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,972,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,714,000 after purchasing an additional 284,560 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of World Kinect by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,358,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,263,000 after purchasing an additional 149,433 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of World Kinect by 2.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,056,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,637,000 after purchasing an additional 146,899 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in World Kinect by 3.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,126,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,471,000 after buying an additional 140,314 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.06% of the company’s stock.

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.