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

KBC Group SA (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 49,229 shares, a growth of 869.6% from the February 26th total of 5,077 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 60,787 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 60,787 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days.

KBC Group Stock Performance

OTCMKTS KBCSY traded down $1.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $59.75. The company had a trading volume of 36,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,814. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.55. KBC Group has a 52 week low of $38.90 and a 52 week high of $73.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.45.

KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.64 billion. KBC Group had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 15.70%. On average, research analysts forecast that KBC Group will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KBCSY. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of KBC Group in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of KBC Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays downgraded shares of KBC Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KBC Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.