Zacks Research Downgrades KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) to Hold

KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on KBCSY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KBC Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays cut shares of KBC Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of KBC Group in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

KBC Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of OTCMKTS:KBCSY opened at $62.88 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $66.01 and its 200 day moving average is $63.46. KBC Group has a 12-month low of $38.90 and a 12-month high of $73.12. The stock has a market cap of $52.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.59.

KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.02. KBC Group had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 15.70%.The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.64 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KBC Group will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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.