Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA) saw a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 542,300 shares, a drop of 68.3% from the December 31st total of 1,710,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 575,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Kelly Services Price Performance

KELYA stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $14.64. The stock had a trading volume of 273,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 322,948. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $521.44 million, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Kelly Services has a 52 week low of $12.68 and a 52 week high of $25.27.

Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The business services provider reported $0.21 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. Kelly Services’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kelly Services will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Kelly Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Kelly Services’s payout ratio is currently 26.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Barrington Research dropped their price objective on shares of Kelly Services from $29.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th.

Insider Transactions at Kelly Services

In other news, SVP Daniel H. Malan bought 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.88 per share, with a total value of $48,580.00. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 95,906 shares in the company, valued at $1,331,175.28. This trade represents a 3.79 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kelly Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Kelly Services by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,253,704 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,842,000 after buying an additional 17,579 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Kelly Services by 45.7% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,211,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,944,000 after acquiring an additional 380,035 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kelly Services by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,739,000 after purchasing an additional 9,635 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kelly Services by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 371,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,955,000 after purchasing an additional 20,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kelly Services by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 329,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,064,000 after purchasing an additional 56,457 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.34% of the company’s stock.

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.