Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Takes Position in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 11,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $190,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEY. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of KeyCorp by 110.3% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in KeyCorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in KeyCorp by 90.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in KeyCorp in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of KeyCorp by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

KeyCorp Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of KeyCorp stock opened at $15.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. KeyCorp has a fifty-two week low of $13.11 and a fifty-two week high of $20.04. The company has a market cap of $17.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -52.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.26.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.19%. KeyCorp’s payout ratio is -273.33%.

KeyCorp announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KEY. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of KeyCorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on KeyCorp from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KeyCorp news, Director Of Nova Scotia Bank acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.85 per share, for a total transaction of $892,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 162,983,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,909,259,509.10. This represents a 0.03 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About KeyCorp

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.