Short Interest in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) Increases By 8.0%

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,530,000 shares, an increase of 8.0% from the December 15th total of 17,150,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 9,510,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Insider Activity at KeyCorp

In related news, Director Carlton L. Highsmith sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.14, for a total value of $154,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 37,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $648,988.96. This represents a 19.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Angela G. Mago sold 15,011 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total value of $294,065.49. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 234,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,595,461.38. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KeyCorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in KeyCorp by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 4,243 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 105,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,814,000 after acquiring an additional 2,293 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 59.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 154,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,645,000 after acquiring an additional 57,510 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in KeyCorp by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 44,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 3,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in KeyCorp by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. 79.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KEY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wedbush upped their target price on KeyCorp from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on KeyCorp from $18.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on KeyCorp from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.44.

KeyCorp Stock Performance

NYSE:KEY traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $18.32. The stock had a trading volume of 17,405,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,603,990. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.99. KeyCorp has a twelve month low of $12.94 and a twelve month high of $20.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,832.30, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.27.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.03. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 0.76%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. On average, analysts expect that KeyCorp will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. KeyCorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8,200.00%.

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.