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

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 21,121,539 shares, a drop of 26.8% from the November 30th total of 28,852,758 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 20,105,780 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 20,105,780 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KeyCorp

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 8,775.0% in the second quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 1,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,404 shares during the period. United Community Bank bought a new stake in KeyCorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in KeyCorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in KeyCorp by 1,246.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 1,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in KeyCorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 79.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on KEY shares. Cowen upgraded shares of KeyCorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on KeyCorp from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on KeyCorp from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on KeyCorp from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on KeyCorp from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KeyCorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.79.

KeyCorp Stock Performance

NYSE KEY opened at $21.20 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $18.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.34. The stock has a market cap of $23.16 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.11. KeyCorp has a fifty-two week low of $12.73 and a fifty-two week high of $21.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.03. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 10.08%.The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.47) EPS. KeyCorp’s revenue was up 172.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that KeyCorp will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 2nd. KeyCorp’s payout ratio is 101.23%.

KeyCorp Company Profile

KeyCorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, that operates through its primary banking subsidiary, KeyBank. It provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. KeyBank’s offerings span traditional deposit and lending products as well as more specialized financial solutions designed for commercial and institutional clients.

The company’s product and service mix includes retail banking products such as checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage lending, and auto financing.