KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on KEY shares. Baird R W downgraded KeyCorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird downgraded KeyCorp from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on KeyCorp from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup downgraded KeyCorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on KeyCorp from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of KeyCorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KEY. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of KeyCorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $92,413,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 280.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,976,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,364,000 after acquiring an additional 3,668,168 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 108.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 5,852,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $98,025,000 after acquiring an additional 3,042,060 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 164.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 4,660,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,066,000 after acquiring an additional 2,900,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 279.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,788,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,452,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790,192 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

KeyCorp Stock Performance

Shares of KEY opened at $18.32 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,832.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. KeyCorp has a 52-week low of $12.94 and a 52-week high of $20.04.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

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

KeyCorp Company Profile

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.