Short Interest in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) Expands By 28.6%

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 24,207,280 shares, a growth of 28.6% from the February 26th total of 18,826,139 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,014,567 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KEY shares. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of KeyCorp in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. DA Davidson set a $25.00 price objective on shares of KeyCorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on KeyCorp from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on KeyCorp from $22.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.97.

Insider Transactions at KeyCorp

In related news, insider Andrew J. Paine III sold 65,961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.23, for a total transaction of $1,532,274.03. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 166,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,869,723.09. This trade represents a 28.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Trina M. Evans sold 32,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.74, for a total value of $710,789.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 58,719 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,551.06. This trade represents a 35.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 161,506 shares of company stock valued at $3,597,481 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in KeyCorp by 2,258.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,572,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463,880 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in KeyCorp by 2.7% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,013,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,641,000 after buying an additional 53,682 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new stake in KeyCorp in the third quarter worth $2,253,000. HoldCo Asset Management LP bought a new stake in KeyCorp in the second quarter valued at $86,995,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in KeyCorp by 175.5% in the second quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 447,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,791,000 after buying an additional 284,928 shares during the last quarter. 79.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KeyCorp Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE KEY opened at $19.43 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.69. KeyCorp has a 52-week low of $12.73 and a 52-week high of $23.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.08.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 10.28% and a net margin of 15.97%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 131.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that KeyCorp will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. KeyCorp’s payout ratio is presently 53.95%.

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.