Short Interest in KB Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:KB) Expands By 40.6%

KB Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:KB - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 605,100 shares, a growth of 40.6% from the April 30th total of 430,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 184,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company's shares are short sold.

KB Financial Group Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE KB traded down $2.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $77.99. 233,871 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 194,773. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. KB Financial Group has a 52 week low of $46.38 and a 52 week high of $80.33. The company has a market cap of $30.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.47.

KB Financial Group (NYSE:KB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $3.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.04 by ($0.02). KB Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.71% and a net margin of 12.33%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Research analysts anticipate that KB Financial Group will post 8.87 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of KB Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KB. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in KB Financial Group by 310.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 912,529 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,923,000 after buying an additional 689,979 shares in the last quarter. Ranmore Fund Management Ltd purchased a new stake in KB Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $12,746,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in KB Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $7,301,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in KB Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $5,489,000. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new stake in KB Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $5,000,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised KB Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st.

About KB Financial Group

KB Financial Group Inc provides a range of banking and related financial services to consumers and corporations in South Korea, the United States, New Zealand, China, Cambodia, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, and internationally. The company operates through Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Other Banking Services, Credit Card, Securities, Life Insurance, and Non-Life Insurance segments.