World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. 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 the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $9.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.57 billion. World Kinect had a net margin of 0.16% and a return on equity of 6.43%.

World Kinect Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. World Kinect’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of World Kinect during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of World Kinect during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of World Kinect by 3,600.0% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of World Kinect during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of World Kinect during the fourth quarter valued at about $74,000. 97.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

World Kinect Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business’s 50-day moving average is $27.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.47. The company has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.27.

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.