KBC Group SA (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) Short Interest Up 378.7% in January

KBC Group SA (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,666 shares, a growth of 378.7% from the January 15th total of 348 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 32,882 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 32,882 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

KBC Group Stock Performance

KBC Group stock opened at $71.77 on Wednesday. KBC Group has a fifty-two week low of $38.90 and a fifty-two week high of $73.12. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.89. The stock has a market cap of $59.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.54.

KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.06. KBC Group had a return on equity of 13.96% and a net margin of 15.91%.The company had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. On average, analysts predict that KBC Group will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KBCSY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of KBC Group in a report on Friday, November 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of KBC Group in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of KBC Group in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of KBC Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KBC Group currently 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.