April 10, 2025
Top 10 Stock KBC Sell Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: KBC – Top 10 Stock in Belgian 20 Index BEL20
KBC is listed as a top 10 stock on April 10, 2025 in the market index BEL20 because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Only one consolidated Obermatt Rank is above-average. The company enjoys a positive professional investor sentiment, but all financial facts speak against a stock purchase. This is probably an investment into the future. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 12 (12% performer), Obermatt issues an overall sell recommendation for KBC on April 10, 2025.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | Belgium |
| Industry | Diversified Banks |
| Index | BEL20, Diversity Europe, Human Rights, Renewables Users, SDG 12, SDG 13, SDG 3, SDG 7, SDG 8 |
| Size class | X-Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View KBC Sell
| 360 METRICS | April 10, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 39 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 21 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 18 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 53 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 12 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 12 (better than 12% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock KBC are critical, mostly below average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for KBC. The consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 53, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 53% of alternative investment opportunities. But all other ranks are below average. The consolidated Value Rank has a rank of 39, which means that the share price of KBC is on the higher side compared with typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. The consolidated Growth Rank also has a low rank of 21, meaning that the company exhibits below-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, invested capital growth, and stock returns. This means that growth is lower than for 21% of competitors in the same industry. Finally, the consolidated Safety Rank has a riskier rank of 18 which means that the company has a riskier financing structure than 82% comparable companies when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 12, KBC is worse than 88% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. This means that KBC shares are on the riskier side for investors. As only the professional market sentiment (Sentiment Rank of 53) is above-average, and all other consolidated Obermatt Ranks are below peers, the stock investing proposition case is rather weak. The stock price is expensive for a company of this size in this industry, visible in the below-average Value Rank. Growth is below the competition based on the Growth Rank, and the company has more debt than other companies, according to the Safety Rank. So the question becomes: How important is the Sentiment Rank when all others are below average? When it comes to growth, the low rating might be justified if growth is expected in the future and not yet reflected in current performance. This is often the case for companies with intellectual property, such as technology and pharmaceutical companies. In the early phases, these companies are expensive compared with their size and may have a lot of debt on their books, as is the case here, as seen in the low Value and Safety Ranks. Future growth may be the strongest investment rationale in this case, which is only reflected by institutional investors' opinions. You pay more than the market average for this stock and invest in a rather debt-loaded enterprise, but it may be worth it if the future of KBC̣ is bright. A small investment might be justified, but proceed with caution. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for KBC positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 53 (better than 53% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock KBC is above average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for KBC. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 36 (worse than 64% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. But they are changing their opinions! Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 50, which indicates a shift in stock research experts opinions for the better. In other words, they are getting more optimistic about stock investments in KBC. Even better, the Professional Investors rank is 57, meaning that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 57% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Furthermore, Market Pulse has a rank of 68, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are upbeat when discussing this company (more positive news than for 68% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 53 (more positive than 53% compared with investment alternatives), KBC has a reputation among professional investors that is above-average compared with that of its competitors. While analysts are still critical of the company, some are changing their minds. In addition, the professional news channels are optimistic, and many institutional investors have already bought stock in the company. These are encouraging signals, despite the still lower level of analyst recommendations. They may be due to a problematic past, and about to change. The positive sentiment signals are stronger than the negative. ...read more
Value Strategy: KBC Stock Price Value below-average critical
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 39 (worse than 61% compared with alternatives), KBC shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, where the majority of metrics are below, and only one is above average for KBC. Price-to-Sales (P/S) is 62, which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than 62% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning to KBC's revenue size. But all other performance indicators point in a different direction. Dividend yields have a Dividend Yield rank of 39, meaning that dividends are expected to be lower than for 61% of comparable investments. Furthermore, Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) is less favorable than 68% of alternatives (only 32% of peers have an even higher ratio). The same is valid for Price-to-Profit (or Price / Earnings, P/E), which is higher than for 63% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive compared with the company's expected profit levels. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 39, is a hold recommendation based on KBC's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Since Price-to-Sales is a stable value indicator even in challenging times, investing in KBC could be seen as a value investment. However, there must be a good reason for the low market-to-book rank. If the company has a typical capital investment practice, the stock may be overvalued because the profit and dividend-related performance indicators are also low. The stock is only good value if investors can expect profits and dividends to pick up in the future. Else, KBC looks like an expensive investment today. ...read more
Growth Strategy: KBC Growth Momentum negative
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 21 (better than 21% compared with alternatives), KBC shows one of the most restricted growth dynamics in its industry. There is little momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators below-average for KBC. While Sales Growth ranks at 81, professionals currently expect the company to grow more than 81% of its competitors, while all other growth ranks are below the market median. Profit Growth has a rank of 31, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 69% of its competitors, and Capital Growth has a low rank of 13. Historic stock returns were also below average with a current Stock Returns rank of 41 which means that the stock returns have recently been below 59% of alternative investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 21, is a sell recommendation for growth and momentum investors. If revenues are expected to increase, but all other growth indicators are negative, the company may be investing in future growth through means not visible in the balance sheet and thus not reflected in capital growth. The fact that Stock Returns have been below market doesn't mean that much, as it may be due to overly optimistic investor behavior in the past, which has been corrected to a more reasonable level recently. If that were the case, a positive Value Rank would be a reason to invest because the company is still expected to grow, while stock prices are now at a more reasonable level. ...read more
Safety Strategy: KBC Debt Financing Safety risky
| SAFETY METRICS | April 10, 2025 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 56 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 23 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 35 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 18 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 18 (better than 18% compared with alternatives), the company KBC has much riskier financing practices than comparable other companies, which means that their overall debt burden is significantly above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of KBC is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with just one indicator above average for KBC and the other two below average. Leverage is at a rank of 56 meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 56% of its competitors.Refinancing is at a rank of 23, which means that the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is above-average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 77% of its competitors. Liquidity is at a rank of 35, meaning that the company generates less profit to service its debt than 65% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 18 (worse than 82% compared with alternatives), KBC has a financing structure that is significantly riskier than that of its competitors. This is an indication that the company is on the riskier side when it comes to debt service. There is only below-market average liquidity, and a short-term refinancing issue might be around the corner. But in the long-term, the debt levels of KBC are on the safer side. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: KBC Lowest Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | April 10, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 39 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 21 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 35 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 10 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 10 (worse than 90% compared with investment alternatives), KBC (Diversified Banks, Belgium) shares have lower financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of KBC are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 39 (worse than 61% of alternatives), show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 21), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 18), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 10, is a sell recommendation based on KBC's financial characteristics. As the company KBC's key financial metrics all exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 39), low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 21), and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 18), it is a somewhat questionable stock investment, where the risk of paying too much for the shares is significant, unless the company has an exceptionally bright future. Such poor financial performance sometimes indicates that the company's business is all concentrated in some distant future. This is sometimes the case for high-tech or biotechnology companies. If they own properties that only provide cash flows in the future, the stock may look excessively expensive and risky today. In such cases, the Obermatt Method has limited value as it is based on facts we can observe today. If the facts are all in the future, stock investing becomes guesswork, and this should only be a driver in a limited number of investments that should only amount to a small fraction of a safe portfolio. ...read more
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