Short Interest in KBC Group NV (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) Grows By 109.5%

KBC Group NV (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 17,600 shares, a growth of 109.5% from the February 13th total of 8,400 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 44,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KBCSY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of KBC Group in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays raised KBC Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th.

KBC Group Price Performance

KBC Group stock traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $45.35. 19,707 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 42,456. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $40.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.75. KBC Group has a 52-week low of $33.98 and a 52-week high of $47.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.10.

KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $3.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. KBC Group had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 13.32%. On average, sell-side 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.