Short Interest in KBC Group NV (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) Grows By 87.5%

KBC Group NV (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 33,000 shares, a growth of 87.5% from the February 28th total of 17,600 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 45,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KBCSY shares. Barclays upgraded shares of KBC Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of KBC Group in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

KBC Group Stock Performance

Shares of KBCSY traded down $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $46.03. 45,756 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,743. KBC Group has a 12 month low of $33.98 and a 12 month high of $47.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.44.

KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.21. KBC Group had a net margin of 13.32% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $3.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that KBC Group will post 4.28 EPS for the current year.

About KBC Group

KBC Group NV, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated bank-insurance services primarily for retail, private banking, small and medium sized enterprises, and mid-cap clients. The company offers demand deposits and savings accounts; home and mortgage loans; consumer finance and SME funding services; credit, investment fund and asset management, and life and non-life insurance; and cash management, payments, trade finance, lease, money market, capital market products, and stockbroking services.