KBC Group SA (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

KBC Group SA (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 857 shares, a decline of 77.2% from the April 30th total of 3,756 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 31,556 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on KBCSY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of KBC Group in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of KBC Group in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of KBC Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KBC Group has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

KBC Group Stock Up 0.6%

KBCSY traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $66.17. The company had a trading volume of 13,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,079. KBC Group has a 52 week low of $48.19 and a 52 week high of $73.12. The company has a market capitalization of $55.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.49.

KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.07). KBC Group had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 13.51%. The company had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. Research analysts predict that KBC Group will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

KBC Group Company Profile

KBC Group is a Belgian bank-insurance group headquartered in Brussels that combines retail and commercial banking with life and non-life insurance, asset management, leasing and related financial services. The company operates an integrated bank-insurance model designed to serve both individual consumers and corporate clients, offering deposit accounts, lending and mortgage products, payment and treasury services, pension and protection insurance, investment solutions and wealth management.

The group’s banking activities include retail and private banking, corporate and commercial banking, and specialized finance such as leasing and factoring.