Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Buys 19,835 Shares of World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its stake in World Kinect Co. (NYSE:WKC) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 197,116 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,835 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in World Kinect were worth $5,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WKC. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of World Kinect by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in World Kinect by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 8,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of World Kinect in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of World Kinect by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 32,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of World Kinect during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 97.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other World Kinect news, CEO Michael J. Kasbar sold 21,507 shares of World Kinect stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.96, for a total value of $622,842.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,019,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,512,064.48. The trade was a 2.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of World Kinect from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, World Kinect currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.80.

World Kinect Price Performance

World Kinect stock opened at $28.42 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16. World Kinect Co. has a one year low of $21.38 and a one year high of $31.71.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $9.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.57 billion. World Kinect had a net margin of 0.16% and a return on equity of 6.43%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that World Kinect Co. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. World Kinect’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

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.