Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

KELYA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barrington Research lowered their target price on Kelly Services from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Kelly Services in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Kelly Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.00.

Kelly Services Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ KELYA opened at $9.79 on Friday. Kelly Services has a one year low of $7.98 and a one year high of $14.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $345.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.21.

Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.29). Kelly Services had a positive return on equity of 4.05% and a negative net margin of 5.98%.The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Kelly Services will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kelly Services

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Kelly Services by 8.2% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 11,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kelly Services by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Kelly Services by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Kelly Services by 173.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its stake in shares of Kelly Services by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 10,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 1,369 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.34% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Kelly Services

Here are the key news stories impacting Kelly Services this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.075 per share (record Feb 25; payable Mar 11), implying a ~3.1% yield — provides income support and can reduce downside for yield-seeking investors.
• Positive Sentiment: Barrington Research maintained an “outperform” rating and set a $15 price target (lowered from $16), signaling analyst conviction and ~50%+ upside from current levels — a potential positive catalyst if investors follow the buy recommendation. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Press release and formal Q4 results are available; revenue of $1.05B slightly exceeded consensus ($1.03B), showing top-line resilience even as profitability weakened. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q4 earnings call transcript is available for additional color on margins, staffing demand and cost actions — useful for investors wanting management’s detail on outlook and margin drivers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports show a strange/insignificant short-interest data point (zeros/NaNs); nothing actionable from short-interest filings at this time.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 EPS of $0.16 missed consensus of $0.45 and fell sharply from prior-year EPS — the earnings miss is the primary near-term negative catalyst, highlighting pressure on margins and earnings quality. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Management updated 1Q FY2026 guidance below street expectations (revenue guidance came in under consensus), which increases downside risk until management demonstrates margin recovery or clearer topline momentum.

About Kelly Services

Kelly Services, Inc is a global workforce solutions provider specializing in talent acquisition and staffing services across a wide range of industries. The company offers temporary staffing, permanent placement, outsourcing solutions, and consulting services to help organizations address their workforce needs. Its service offerings are designed to support clients in areas such as administrative support, information technology, engineering, science, education, healthcare, and industrial sectors.

Founded in 1946 by William Russell Kelly, Kelly Services has grown from a small local staffing firm into an international organization.