River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 792,427 Shares of World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC)

River Road Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 297,336 shares of the company’s stock after selling 792,427 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.50% of World Kinect worth $9,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WKC. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in World Kinect in the third quarter worth $434,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in World Kinect in the third quarter worth $1,887,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in World Kinect in the third quarter worth $1,523,000. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in World Kinect in the third quarter worth $253,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in World Kinect in the third quarter worth $210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.06% of the company’s stock.

World Kinect Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE WKC opened at $26.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. World Kinect Co. has a 12 month low of $19.72 and a 12 month high of $31.70.

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

World Kinect Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. World Kinect’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.22%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on WKC shares. Morgan Stanley lowered World Kinect from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded World Kinect from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on World Kinect from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on World Kinect from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.20.

Insider Transactions at World Kinect

In other news, CEO Michael J. Kasbar sold 58,948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.92, for a total transaction of $1,645,828.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,019,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,452,238.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.