Short Interest in Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA) Declines By 14.1%

Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 666,400 shares, a decrease of 14.1% from the February 28th total of 776,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 558,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 2.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kelly Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Kelly Services by 367.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,396 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Kelly Services by 109.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Kelly Services by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,406 shares in the last quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kelly Services by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,194 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Kelly Services by 3,062.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 9,035 shares in the last quarter. 76.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kelly Services Stock Down 2.1 %

Kelly Services stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $12.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 38,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 333,799. Kelly Services has a 12 month low of $12.66 and a 12 month high of $24.74. The company has a market capitalization of $452.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -215.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.65. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.70.

Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.38. Kelly Services had a positive return on equity of 6.56% and a negative net margin of 0.01%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kelly Services will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kelly Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Kelly Services’s payout ratio is -500.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Kelly Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

About Kelly Services

Kelly Services, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides workforce solutions to various industries. The company operates through five segments: Professional & Industrial; Science, Engineering & Technology; Education; Outsourcing & Consulting; and International. The Professional & Industrial segment delivers staffing, outcome-based, and permanent placement services providing administrative, accounting, and finance; light industrial; contact center staffing; and other workforce solutions.