Short Interest in Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA) Declines By 10.0%

Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA) saw a large decline in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 665,800 shares, a decline of 10.0% from the July 15th total of 739,600 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 251,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Kelly Services by 58.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 22,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 8,365 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Kelly Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $346,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Kelly Services by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 43,691 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 4,228 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kelly Services by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 64,668 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,398,000 after buying an additional 1,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Kelly Services by 138.6% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 30,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 17,588 shares in the last quarter. 76.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kelly Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KELYA traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.35. The company had a trading volume of 353,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 238,541. The stock has a market cap of $722.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.21. Kelly Services has a 12 month low of $17.40 and a 12 month high of $25.27. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.58.

Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The business services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.15. Kelly Services had a return on equity of 6.87% and a net margin of 1.11%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Kelly Services will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Kelly Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Kelly Services’s dividend payout ratio is 21.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on KELYA shares. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Kelly Services in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Kelly Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th.

Kelly Services Company Profile

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.