Short Interest in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) Drops By 7.7%

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,230,000 shares, a decline of 7.7% from the October 31st total of 17,580,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 10,250,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KEY. Baird R W cut shares of KeyCorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut shares of KeyCorp from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KeyCorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at KeyCorp

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KeyCorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 285.5% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in KeyCorp during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in KeyCorp by 90.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in KeyCorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of KeyCorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. 79.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KeyCorp Price Performance

Shares of KEY opened at $18.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. KeyCorp has a 1-year low of $12.76 and a 1-year high of $20.04. The stock has a market cap of $18.63 billion, a PE ratio of 1,879.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.25.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.03. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 0.76%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that KeyCorp will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp’s payout ratio is 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.