KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) Reaches New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Shares of KBC Group NV (OTCMKTS:KBCSY - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $50.51 and last traded at $50.51, with a volume of 19627 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KBCSY shares. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of KBC Group in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of KBC Group in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of KBC Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th.

KBC Group Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $46.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.44. The firm has a market cap of $41.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.78.

KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. KBC Group had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 13.32%. As a group, analysts forecast that KBC Group NV will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

KBC Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were paid a $1.1873 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 7th. This is a positive change from KBC Group's previous dividend of $0.33. This represents a yield of 3.77%. KBC Group's payout ratio is currently 51.43%.

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.