Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY)

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 13,855 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 26% compared to the typical daily volume of 11,026 put options.

KeyCorp Stock Down 4.4 %

Shares of KEY stock opened at $14.84 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $13.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 1.29. KeyCorp has a one year low of $8.53 and a one year high of $15.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $14.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 8.61%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that KeyCorp will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on KeyCorp from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on KeyCorp from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James started coverage on KeyCorp in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on KeyCorp from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on KeyCorp from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Douglas M. Schosser sold 3,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total value of $46,564.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,130. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Trina M. Evans sold 12,335 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.23, for a total value of $175,527.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 81,622 shares in the company, valued at $1,161,481.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Douglas M. Schosser sold 3,326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total value of $46,564.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,130. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,442 shares of company stock worth $303,914 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY acquired a new position in KeyCorp during the fourth quarter worth $7,200,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in KeyCorp by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 237,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,426,000 after acquiring an additional 2,344 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in KeyCorp by 78.1% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,380,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,995,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044,148 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in KeyCorp by 16.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,126,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $248,844,000 after acquiring an additional 3,216,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in KeyCorp by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,610,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,186,000 after acquiring an additional 492,584 shares in the last quarter. 79.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.