World Kinect (WKC) and Its Competitors Critical Analysis

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC) is one of 1,051 publicly-traded companies in the “Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare World Kinect to related companies based on the strength of its dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for World Kinect and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
World Kinect	3	1	0	0	1.25
World Kinect Competitors	5968	26950	40781	2408	2.52

World Kinect currently has a consensus price target of $32.00, suggesting a potential downside of 15.54%. As a group, “Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels” companies have a potential upside of 22.65%. Given World Kinect’s rivals stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe World Kinect has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Dividends

World Kinect pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. World Kinect pays out -31.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels” companies pay a dividend yield of 8.7% and pay out -121.8% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. World Kinect has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years. World Kinect lags its rivals as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Volatility & Risk

World Kinect has a beta of 1.29, suggesting that its stock price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, World Kinect’s rivals have a beta of -3.69, suggesting that their average stock price is 469% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.1% of World Kinect shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.7% of shares of all “Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels” companies are held by institutional investors. 3.8% of World Kinect shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.5% of shares of all “Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares World Kinect and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
World Kinect	$36.92 billion	-$614.40 million	-12.76
World Kinect Competitors	$10.81 billion	$5.51 billion	-0.30

World Kinect has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its rivals. World Kinect is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares World Kinect and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
World Kinect	-0.37%	13.63%	2.63%
World Kinect Competitors	-470.89%	19.08%	6.33%

Summary

World Kinect rivals beat World Kinect on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

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. The Land segment offers fuel, lubricants, heating oil, and related products and services to retail petroleum operators, as well as industrial, commercial, residential and government customers. This segment also provides sustainability solutions, such as renewable fuel products, carbon management, and renewable energy solutions; distributes fuel under long-term contracts to branded and unbranded distributors, convenience stores, and retail fuel outlets operated by third parties; distributes heating oil and unbranded fuel; and transportation logistics. The Marine segment markets fuel, lubricants, and related products and services to international container, dry bulk and tanker fleets, commercial cruise lines, yachts and time charter operators, offshore rig owners and operators, the U.S. and foreign governments, and other fuel suppliers. This segment also offers marine fuel-related services include management services to procurement of fuel, price risk management, cost control, quality control, and claims management services; and engages in the fueling of vessels, and transportation and delivery of fuel and fuel-related products. The company was formerly known as World Fuel Services Corporation and changed its name to World Kinect Corporation in June 2023. World Kinect Corporation was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.