Short Interest in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) Rises By 12.1%

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,470,000 shares, a growth of 12.1% from the August 15th total of 19,160,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 15,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

KeyCorp Price Performance

Shares of KEY stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $16.27. The stock had a trading volume of 6,378,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,960,111. The company has a market cap of $15.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. KeyCorp has a 12-month low of $9.50 and a 12-month high of $17.20. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.03.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. KeyCorp had a net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 8.64%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KeyCorp will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.04%. KeyCorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.80%.

Insider Activity

In other KeyCorp news, Director Carlton L. Highsmith sold 10,000 shares of KeyCorp stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.21, for a total value of $162,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,864 shares in the company, valued at $759,665.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KeyCorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in KeyCorp by 55.1% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 54,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 19,474 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 53,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 6,785 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 26,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 3,599 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank acquired a new stake in KeyCorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $660,000. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its stake in KeyCorp by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 74,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 2,871 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on KEY shares. Wedbush upped their price target on KeyCorp from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of KeyCorp in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. UBS Group cut shares of KeyCorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on KeyCorp from $17.50 to $16.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, KeyCorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.65.

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.