Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Buys New Stake in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. purchased a new stake in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 276,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,294,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.46% of World Kinect at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WKC. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of World Kinect in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,843,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in World Kinect in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,421,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of World Kinect in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,584,000. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of World Kinect during the fourth quarter worth approximately $796,000. Finally, CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of World Kinect in the 4th quarter valued at $3,594,000. 97.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

World Kinect Stock Performance

Shares of WKC stock traded down $1.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.01. The stock had a trading volume of 918,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 548,162. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.39, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.95. World Kinect Co. has a fifty-two week low of $17.69 and a fifty-two week high of $26.83.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.04. World Kinect had a net margin of 0.11% and a return on equity of 6.07%. The firm had revenue of $12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that World Kinect Co. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

World Kinect Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This is an increase from World Kinect’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. World Kinect’s payout ratio is 80.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other World Kinect news, Director Paul H. Stebbins sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.37, for a total value of $487,400.00. Following the completion of 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

World Kinect Profile

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.