Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Sunday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research cut Kelly Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barrington Research cut their target price on Kelly Services from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Kelly Services in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kelly Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.00.

Kelly Services Price Performance

NASDAQ KELYA opened at $9.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Kelly Services has a 12 month low of $7.98 and a 12 month high of $14.94. The stock has a market cap of $319.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.29, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50 day moving average is $9.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.04.

Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Kelly Services had a positive return on equity of 4.05% and a negative net margin of 5.98%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kelly Services will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kelly Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Kelly Services’s dividend payout ratio is -4.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James Christopher Hunt acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.57 per share, for a total transaction of $95,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 15,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $152,890.32. This represents a 167.34% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kelly Services by 24.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 373,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,916,000 after purchasing an additional 73,040 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Kelly Services by 8.5% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,188,264 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,649,000 after buying an additional 93,026 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Kelly Services by 4.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 214,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,829,000 after buying an additional 8,562 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in Kelly Services by 181.4% in the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 70,928 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $831,000 after buying an additional 45,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kelly Services in the 2nd quarter worth $150,000. 76.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kelly Services

Kelly Services, Inc is a global workforce solutions provider specializing in talent acquisition and staffing services across a wide range of industries. The company offers temporary staffing, permanent placement, outsourcing solutions, and consulting services to help organizations address their workforce needs. Its service offerings are designed to support clients in areas such as administrative support, information technology, engineering, science, education, healthcare, and industrial sectors.

Founded in 1946 by William Russell Kelly, Kelly Services has grown from a small local staffing firm into an international organization.