KBC Group NV (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) Short Interest Up 109.5% in February

KBC Group NV (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 17,600 shares, an increase of 109.5% from the February 13th total of 8,400 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 44,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days.

KBC Group Stock Performance

OTCMKTS KBCSY opened at $46.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $38.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.10. KBC Group has a fifty-two week low of $33.98 and a fifty-two week high of $47.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.80.

KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $3.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. KBC Group had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 13.32%. Sell-side analysts predict that KBC Group will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of KBC Group in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of KBC Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th.

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.