Foundry Partners LLC Buys 64,820 Shares of Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA)

Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA) by 75.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,920 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,820 shares during the quarter. Foundry Partners LLC owned 0.43% of Kelly Services worth $3,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KELYA. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Kelly Services in the 4th quarter worth about $1,730,000. Wasatch Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Kelly Services in the first quarter worth approximately $1,434,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Kelly Services by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,694,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,247,000 after buying an additional 22,006 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Kelly Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $466,000. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in Kelly Services by 167.0% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 33,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 20,645 shares in the last quarter. 76.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Kelly Services in a report on Tuesday, May 28th.

Kelly Services Stock Down 0.6 %

KELYA traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $22.51. 126,757 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 241,233. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.77 and its 200 day moving average is $22.46. Kelly Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.85 and a 52 week high of $25.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $799.56 million, a PE ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.22.

Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The business services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.10. Kelly Services had a net margin of 1.11% and a return on equity of 6.87%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kelly Services, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kelly Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. Kelly Services’s payout ratio is currently 21.58%.

About Kelly Services

Kelly Services, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides workforce solutions to various industries. The company operates through five segments: Professional & Industrial; Science, Engineering & Technology; Education; Outsourcing & Consulting; and International. The Professional & Industrial segment delivers staffing, outcome-based, and permanent placement services providing administrative, accounting, and finance; light industrial; contact center staffing; and other workforce solutions.