KBC Group SA (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) Short Interest Up 315.6% in July

KBC Group SA (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) was the target of a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,466 shares, a growth of 315.6% from the July 15th total of 834 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 23,361 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

KBC Group Stock Performance

KBCSY stock traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $76.08. 11,651 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,034. KBC Group has a 1-year low of $56.86 and a 1-year high of $76.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.17. The company has a market cap of $63.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.59.

KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.83 billion. KBC Group had a net margin of 15.58% and a return on equity of 13.48%. On average, research analysts anticipate that KBC Group will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of KBC Group in a research note on Monday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of KBC Group in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

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.