Short Interest in Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA) Rises By 10.7%

Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA) saw a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 635,200 shares, an increase of 10.7% from the January 15th total of 573,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 617,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kelly Services news, SVP Daniel H. Malan purchased 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.88 per share, for a total transaction of $48,580.00. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 95,906 shares in the company, valued at $1,331,175.28. This trade represents a 3.79 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kelly Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,883 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position 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 valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406 shares during the period. Palouse Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Kelly Services by 3,062.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 9,035 shares during the period. 76.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Kelly Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Kelly Services Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ KELYA traded down $0.11 during trading on Monday, hitting $14.14. The stock had a trading volume of 374,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 261,028. Kelly Services has a 12 month low of $12.68 and a 12 month high of $25.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $13.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.27. The company has a market capitalization of $503.53 million, a PE ratio of 12.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.11.

Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.38. Kelly Services had a net margin of 0.97% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kelly Services will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Kelly Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. Kelly Services’s payout ratio is 26.09%.

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.