Short Interest in Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA) Drops By 6.5%

Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 719,300 shares, a drop of 6.5% from the October 15th total of 769,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 200,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on KELYA shares. StockNews.com cut Kelly Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Barrington Research cut their target price on Kelly Services from $29.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kelly Services

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Kelly Services in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Kelly Services during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Kelly Services during the 2nd quarter worth $47,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Kelly Services during the 2nd quarter worth $51,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Kelly Services during the 1st quarter worth $125,000. 76.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kelly Services Price Performance

KELYA stock opened at $14.16 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $504.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.20. Kelly Services has a 52-week low of $13.89 and a 52-week high of $25.27.

Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The business services provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.23). Kelly Services had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.97%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. Kelly Services’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kelly Services will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Kelly Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Kelly Services’s payout ratio is presently 26.09%.

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.