Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Increases Stake in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) by 24.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,119,750 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 216,903 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 1.93% of World Kinect worth $30,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WKC. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of World Kinect in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in World Kinect during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in World Kinect during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in World Kinect during the 4th quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in World Kinect during the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,000. 97.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael J. Kasbar sold 21,507 shares of World Kinect stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.96, for a total value of $622,842.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,019,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,512,064.48. This trade represents a 2.07% 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. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WKC shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of World Kinect from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of World Kinect from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

World Kinect Price Performance

NYSE:WKC opened at $26.80 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.42. World Kinect Co. has a 1-year low of $22.71 and a 1-year high of $31.71.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.47 billion. World Kinect had a net margin of 0.16% and a return on equity of 6.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that World Kinect Co. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

World Kinect Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. World Kinect’s dividend payout ratio is currently 283.33%.

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.