Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA) Stock Bumped Down to "Strong Sell" by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Kelly Services from “hold” to “strong sell.” Across analysts, the consensus rating is “Reduce,” with a $20 price target.
• Analysts have cut earnings forecasts: Noble Financial and Sidoti lowered estimates for upcoming quarters and fiscal years, signaling weaker profit expectations.
• Kelly Services’ latest quarterly results met EPS expectations at $0.07 and slightly exceeded revenue forecasts, reporting $927.2 million in revenue.

Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

KELYA has been the topic of several other reports. Barrington Research boosted their price objective on shares of Kelly Services from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kelly Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Kelly Services from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Kelly Services Price Performance

NASDAQ:KELYA opened at $14.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $16.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.68. The company has a market cap of $487.61 million, a P/E ratio of -3.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.93. Kelly Services has a 52-week low of $7.98 and a 52-week high of $17.75.

Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07. The company had revenue of $927.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $925.87 million. Kelly Services had a positive return on equity of 2.36% and a negative net margin of 3.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kelly Services will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kelly Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in shares of Kelly Services in the first quarter valued at about $4,371,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kelly Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,704,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Kelly Services by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 347,605 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,076,000 after buying an additional 4,326 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Kelly Services by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 189,010 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,673,000 after buying an additional 48,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Kelly Services by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 155,590 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,377,000 after buying an additional 26,832 shares during the last quarter. 76.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kelly Services News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Kelly Services this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cut forecasts: Noble Financial lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate to $1.08 from $1.21 and FY2027 to $1.72 from $2.07. Sidoti reduced FY2027 EPS to $1.56 from $1.87, and cut its Q3 2027 estimate to $0.29 from $0.45. Both firms also lowered Q4 2026 estimates: Sidoti to $0.42 from $0.63 and Noble to $0.59 from $0.65. These revisions signal softer profit expectations and are the clearest potential source of downward pressure on KELYA shares.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest report is unclear: A report described a significant increase in short interest but listed total short interest as zero shares, making the data internally inconsistent and difficult to interpret.

About Kelly Services

Kelly Services is a workforce solutions and staffing company that connects employers with workers across a range of professional and industrial fields. Its services include temporary and contract staffing, direct-hire recruitment, workforce management and related consulting and outsourcing solutions. The company serves organizations in areas such as science and engineering, education, technology, finance, and office and industrial operations. Its offerings are designed to help employers recruit talent and manage workforce needs, while providing job seekers with access to temporary, contract and permanent opportunities.

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