Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Lowers Position in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,606 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,164 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned about 0.10% of World Kinect worth $1,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in World Kinect by 1,182.1% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 49,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 45,430 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of World Kinect by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 30,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of World Kinect by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 754,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,473,000 after buying an additional 14,754 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its position in World Kinect by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 47,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,224,000 after buying an additional 7,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of World Kinect during the second quarter worth approximately $65,000. 97.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WKC. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of World Kinect from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut World Kinect from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $33.00 to $32.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley cut World Kinect from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $28.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.20.

World Kinect Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WKC opened at $28.43 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.94 and its 200 day moving average is $27.81. World Kinect Co. has a 1 year low of $20.00 and a 1 year high of $31.70. The company has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

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

World Kinect declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, September 9th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 11% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.