KB Financial Group (NYSE:KB) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of KB Financial Group Inc (NYSE:KB) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $112.75 and last traded at $111.6430, with a volume of 306218 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $106.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of KB Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of KB Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

KB Financial Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.07.

KB Financial Group (NYSE:KB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The bank reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter. KB Financial Group had a net margin of 16.96% and a return on equity of 9.79%. On average, analysts expect that KB Financial Group Inc will post 8.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of KB Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KB. Cullen Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of KB Financial Group by 19.6% during the second quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 111,477 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,207,000 after buying an additional 18,255 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in KB Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $302,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of KB Financial Group by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 64,244 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,306,000 after acquiring an additional 12,561 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of KB Financial Group by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,554,154 shares of the bank’s stock worth $128,357,000 after purchasing an additional 26,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of KB Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $666,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.52% of the company’s stock.

About KB Financial Group

KB Financial Group Inc is a South Korea-based financial holding company that offers a broad range of banking and financial services. Headquartered in Seoul and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker KB, the group operates through a set of specialized subsidiaries to provide integrated financial solutions for retail, corporate and institutional clients.

The company’s principal businesses include retail and corporate banking, securities and investment banking, insurance (life and non-life), asset management, credit card and consumer finance, and leasing.