KBC Group NV (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) Short Interest Up 109.5% in February

KBC Group NV (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 44,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

KBC Group Price Performance

Shares of KBC Group stock traded up $0.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.04. 20,602 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 42,001. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.10. KBC Group has a 1-year low of $33.98 and a 1-year high of $47.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.80.

KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.21. KBC Group had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 13.32%. The business had revenue of $3.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KBC Group will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KBCSY. Morgan Stanley reissued 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 report on Monday, February 17th.

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.