KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) Short Interest Update

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,470,000 shares, an increase of 12.1% from the August 15th total of 19,160,000 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 15,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Carlton L. Highsmith sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.21, for a total transaction of $162,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,665.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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. raised its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 2.5% in the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 30,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 3.7% in the first quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 20,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 788 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of KeyCorp by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 50,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the period. 79.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KeyCorp Stock Performance

Shares of KEY stock opened at $16.57 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $15.93 and its 200 day moving average is $15.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.25. KeyCorp has a 52-week low of $9.50 and a 52-week high of $17.20.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 8.64% and a net margin of 7.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KeyCorp will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. KeyCorp’s payout ratio is presently 103.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KEY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush boosted their price objective on KeyCorp from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. DA Davidson increased their price target on KeyCorp from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on KeyCorp from $17.50 to $16.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of KeyCorp in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of KeyCorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.65.

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.