Koninklijke KPN NV (OTCMKTS:KKPNF) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 53.3% to 11,927,236 shares as of Feb. 27 (up from 7,778,901 on Feb. 12), representing about 0.3% of shares short and a 16.0 days-to-cover ratio based on average volume.
• KKPNF traded flat at $5.49 with very light intraday volume, has a market capitalization of $21.35 billion and a P/E of 22.88, with 50- and 200-day moving averages near $5.08 and $4.82 respectively.
• Koninklijke KPN missed quarterly EPS (reported $0.07 vs. $0.08 expected) while slightly beating revenue ($1.73B vs. $1.70B), and analyst coverage is mixed — Zacks upgraded to a Hold and the MarketBeat consensus rates the stock as a Buy.

Koninklijke KPN NV (OTCMKTS:KKPNF - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 11,927,236 shares, an increase of 53.3% from the February 12th total of 7,778,901 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 743,828 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 16.0 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 743,828 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 16.0 days.

Koninklijke KPN Stock Performance

Shares of KKPNF remained flat at $5.49 during trading hours on Friday. 4,531 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 177,524. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. Koninklijke KPN has a 1-year low of $3.95 and a 1-year high of $5.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.08 and a 200 day moving average of $4.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.88 and a beta of 0.24.

Koninklijke KPN (OTCMKTS:KKPNF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01). Koninklijke KPN had a return on equity of 24.84% and a net margin of 14.72%.The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Koninklijke KPN will post 0.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Koninklijke KPN from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy".

About Koninklijke KPN

Koninklijke KPN N.V. (Royal KPN) is a Dutch telecommunications and ICT services company headquartered in The Hague. The group traces its origins to the Dutch national postal and telecommunications service and evolved into a privatized commercial operator. KPN is primarily listed on Euronext Amsterdam and its American depositary receipts trade over the counter under the symbol KKPNF.

KPN's core activities cover a full range of telecommunications and digital infrastructure services. For consumer markets it offers fixed-line and mobile voice services, broadband internet, television and bundled connectivity packages.

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