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

KBC Group SA (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 8,674 shares, a growth of 912.1% from the May 14th total of 857 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 47,043 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

KBC Group Stock Performance

OTCMKTS KBCSY traded up $1.45 on Thursday, reaching $65.09. 10,652 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 28,150. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $65.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.69. The company has a market cap of $54.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.59. KBC Group has a 12 month low of $48.19 and a 12 month high of $73.12.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About KBC Group

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.