World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 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 traded.

The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $9.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.57 billion. World Kinect had a return on equity of 6.29% and a net margin of 0.30%.

World Kinect Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. World Kinect’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of World Kinect from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On World Kinect

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of World Kinect in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in World Kinect during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of World Kinect by 3,600.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of World Kinect in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of World Kinect during the third quarter worth about $76,000. 97.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

World Kinect Stock Up 8.7 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.84 and a 200 day moving average of $28.42.

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.