Short Interest in KB Financial Group Inc (NYSE:KB) Drops By 47.0%

KB Financial Group Inc (NYSE:KB) saw a large decline in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 436,993 shares, a decline of 47.0% from the June 30th total of 824,704 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 349,833 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days.

KB Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KB traded down $3.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $117.70. 300,819 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 298,857. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.75 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.01. KB Financial Group has a 52-week low of $76.31 and a 52-week high of $125.62.

KB Financial Group (NYSE:KB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The bank reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter. KB Financial Group had a net margin of 17.36% and a return on equity of 9.99%. Equities research analysts anticipate that KB Financial Group will post 12.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KB Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new position in KB Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $3,842,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of KB Financial Group by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 62,786 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,206,000 after purchasing an additional 19,608 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of KB Financial Group by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,457,537 shares of the bank’s stock worth $145,360,000 after acquiring an additional 39,764 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KB Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $24,497,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in shares of KB Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $36,964,000. 11.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of KB Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of KB Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of KB Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of KB Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy”.

About KB Financial Group

KB Financial Group Inc is a South Korea-based financial holding company that offers a broad range of banking and financial services. Headquartered in Seoul and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker KB, the group operates through a set of specialized subsidiaries to provide integrated financial solutions for retail, corporate and institutional clients.

The company’s principal businesses include retail and corporate banking, securities and investment banking, insurance (life and non-life), asset management, credit card and consumer finance, and leasing.