Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA) Short Interest Up 15.7% in September

Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 764,600 shares, an increase of 15.7% from the September 15th total of 661,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 209,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kelly Services

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kelly Services by 73.7% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 59,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,488,000 after buying an additional 25,219 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its stake in Kelly Services by 75.3% in the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 150,920 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,779,000 after purchasing an additional 64,820 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new position in Kelly Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,434,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Kelly Services during the 1st quarter valued at $18,618,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Kelly Services by 178.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 155,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,331,000 after purchasing an additional 99,699 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.34% of the company’s stock.

Kelly Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KELYA opened at $20.32 on Wednesday. Kelly Services has a 12 month low of $17.40 and a 12 month high of $25.27. The stock has a market cap of $721.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The business services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. Kelly Services had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 1.09%. The firm’s revenue was down 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kelly Services will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kelly Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Kelly Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KELYA shares. StockNews.com cut Kelly Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Kelly Services in a report on Friday, September 27th.

About Kelly Services

Kelly Services, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides workforce solutions to various industries. The company operates through five segments: Professional & Industrial; Science, Engineering & Technology; Education; Outsourcing & Consulting; and International. The Professional & Industrial segment delivers staffing, outcome-based, and permanent placement services providing administrative, accounting, and finance; light industrial; contact center staffing; and other workforce solutions.