KB Financial Group (NYSE:KB) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

KB Financial Group Inc (NYSE:KB) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday. The stock had previously closed at $113.39, but opened at $118.73. KB Financial Group shares last traded at $117.61, with a volume of 27,121 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of KB Financial Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research upgraded KB Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KB Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

KB Financial Group Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $121.18 and its 200 day moving average is $112.36. The firm has a market cap of $41.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

KB Financial Group (NYSE:KB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The bank reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. KB Financial Group had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 10.11%. As a group, analysts anticipate that KB Financial Group Inc will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of KB Financial Group by 72.7% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 20,297 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 8,546 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in KB Financial Group by 127.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,461 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,340,000 after buying an additional 13,164 shares during the period. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in KB Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,926,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its position in KB Financial Group by 202.5% during the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 36,202 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,456,000 after buying an additional 24,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of KB Financial Group by 20.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,068,416 shares of the bank’s stock worth $106,553,000 after purchasing an additional 180,590 shares during the last quarter. 11.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About KB Financial Group

KB Financial Group Inc. is a South Korean financial holding company headquartered in Seoul. Established in 2008, it brings together businesses serving individual, corporate and institutional customers, with operations centered primarily in South Korea and an international presence through overseas offices and subsidiaries. Its businesses include commercial and retail banking through KB Kookmin Bank, as well as securities and investment banking, insurance, credit cards, asset management, and consumer and corporate finance.