KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) saw a significant drop in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,690,000 shares, a drop of 22.3% from the August 31st total of 21,470,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 14,930,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

KeyCorp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KEY traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $16.61. The company had a trading volume of 5,057,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,767,818. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.15. KeyCorp has a fifty-two week low of $9.50 and a fifty-two week high of $17.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. KeyCorp had a net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 8.64%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that KeyCorp will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.94%. KeyCorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KeyCorp

In other news, Director Carlton L. Highsmith sold 10,000 shares of KeyCorp stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.21, for a total transaction of $162,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,864 shares in the company, valued at $759,665.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KeyCorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in KeyCorp by 1.0% during the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 69,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in KeyCorp by 2.5% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 30,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. boosted its position in KeyCorp by 3.7% during the first quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 20,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in KeyCorp by 0.5% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 164,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,605,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in KeyCorp by 1.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 50,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. 79.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on KEY shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of KeyCorp in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $17.50 to $16.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.71.

KeyCorp Company Profile

KeyCorp operates as the holding company for KeyBank National Association that provides various retail and commercial banking products and services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Consumer Bank and Commercial Bank. The company offers various deposits, investment products and services; commercial leasing, investment management, consumer finance; and personal finance and financial wellness, student loan refinancing, mortgage and home equity, lending, credit card, treasury, business advisory, wealth management, asset management, cash management, portfolio management, and trust and related services to individuals and small and medium-sized businesses.