KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) Raised to Strong-Buy at Argus

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) was upgraded by research analysts at Argus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on KEY. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on KeyCorp from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen cut KeyCorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of KeyCorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KeyCorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.14.

KeyCorp Price Performance

Shares of KeyCorp stock opened at $22.61 on Wednesday. KeyCorp has a 1-year low of $16.47 and a 1-year high of $24.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.02.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 17.83%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that KeyCorp will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

KeyCorp declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 13% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at KeyCorp

In other news, insider Angela G. Mago sold 22,826 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.66, for a total value of $494,411.16. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 281,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,098,676.24. The trade was a 7.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KeyCorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tema ETFs LLC boosted its stake in KeyCorp by 10.7% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 19,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,885 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 591.9% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 126,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,909,000 after buying an additional 107,955 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 1.8% in the second quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 187,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,328,000 after buying an additional 3,291 shares in the last quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 7.0% in the second quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC now owns 12,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sax Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 30.9% in the second quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 5,484 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

KeyCorp Company Profile

KeyCorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, that operates through its primary banking subsidiary, KeyBank. It provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. KeyBank’s offerings span traditional deposit and lending products as well as more specialized financial solutions designed for commercial and institutional clients.

The company’s product and service mix includes retail banking products such as checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage lending, and auto financing.