Entropy Technologies LP Takes Position in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC)

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $586,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of World Kinect in the 3rd quarter valued at about $76,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of World Kinect in the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of World Kinect in the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in shares of World Kinect by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of World Kinect in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Institutional investors own 97.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael J. Kasbar sold 58,948 shares of World Kinect stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.92, for a total value of $1,645,828.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,019,063 shares in the company, valued at $28,452,238.96. This trade represents a 5.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

World Kinect Stock Performance

Shares of WKC stock opened at $27.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $29.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.26. World Kinect Co. has a 52 week low of $19.97 and a 52 week high of $31.70.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.62. The firm had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.77 billion. World Kinect had a net margin of 0.30% and a return on equity of 6.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. On average, analysts expect that World Kinect Co. will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 9th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 11% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

World Kinect Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. World Kinect’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WKC. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of World Kinect from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of World Kinect from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $28.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of World Kinect from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $33.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of World Kinect from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, World Kinect presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.20.

World Kinect Company 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.