Sanctuary Advisors LLC Invests $849,000 in KeyCorp $KEY

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 36,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $849,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in KeyCorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KeyCorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of KeyCorp during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KeyCorp during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of KeyCorp during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 79.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KeyCorp Stock Down 0.5%

KEY stock opened at $21.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.74, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. KeyCorp has a twelve month low of $16.47 and a twelve month high of $24.07.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. KeyCorp had a net margin of 17.83% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that KeyCorp will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. KeyCorp’s dividend payout ratio is 47.67%.

KeyCorp declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 13% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KEY shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of KeyCorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on KeyCorp from $300.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.14.

About KeyCorp

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.