Short Interest in KBC Group SA (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) Increases By 180.6%

Key Points

• Short interest in KBC Group rose 180.6% to 9,724 shares as of August 14, though this represents approximately 0.0% of shares outstanding and just 0.4 days of average trading volume.
• KBC Group shares were down 1.3% at $76.67, near the company’s 12-month high of $78.02. The bank-insurer has a $64.04 billion market capitalization and trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.58.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.64 in EPS versus the $1.59 consensus and $3.96 billion in revenue versus $3.83 billion expected. Despite the earnings beat, analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating.

KBC Group SA (OTCMKTS:KBCSY - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 9,724 shares, an increase of 180.6% from the July 30th total of 3,466 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 23,466 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days.

KBC Group Stock Down 1.3%

OTCMKTS KBCSY opened at $76.67 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.54. KBC Group has a 12-month low of $56.86 and a 12-month high of $78.02. The firm has a market cap of $64.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.58, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.59.

KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.05. KBC Group had a return on equity of 13.48% and a net margin of 15.58%.The firm had revenue of $3.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.83 billion. Equities analysts expect that KBC Group will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on KBCSY. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of KBC Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of KBC Group in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

KBC Group Company Profile

KBC Group is a Belgian bank-insurance group headquartered in Brussels that combines retail and commercial banking with life and non-life insurance, asset management, leasing and related financial services. The company operates an integrated bank-insurance model designed to serve both individual consumers and corporate clients, offering deposit accounts, lending and mortgage products, payment and treasury services, pension and protection insurance, investment solutions and wealth management.

The group's banking activities include retail and private banking, corporate and commercial banking, and specialized finance such as leasing and factoring.

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