KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) Short Interest Update

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) was the target of a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 49,800,000 shares, a growth of 22.8% from the August 15th total of 40,540,000 shares. Currently, 5.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 17,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus cut their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of KeyCorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $13.50 in a research report on Friday. Odeon Capital Group upgraded shares of KeyCorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of KeyCorp from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $11.50 to $13.50 in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of KeyCorp in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KeyCorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.73.

KeyCorp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KEY traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $11.37. 10,846,780 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,163,504. KeyCorp has a 12 month low of $8.53 and a 12 month high of $20.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.64 billion, a PE ratio of 7.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.05). KeyCorp had a net margin of 14.93% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that KeyCorp will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 29th were paid a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 28th. KeyCorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KeyCorp news, Director Devina A. Rankin bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.49 per share, for a total transaction of $114,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,900. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KeyCorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of KeyCorp by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 325,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,071,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of KeyCorp by 42.3% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 41,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 12,247 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of KeyCorp by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 256,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,477,000 after buying an additional 42,243 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of KeyCorp by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 8,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 1,739 shares during the period. Finally, Acrisure Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KeyCorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $279,000. 77.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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; and personal finance and financial wellness, student loan refinancing, mortgage and home equity, lending, credit card, treasury, business advisory, wealth management, asset management, investment, cash management, portfolio management, and trust and related services to individuals and small and medium-sized businesses.