Weiss Asset Management LP Makes New Investment in KeyCorp $KEY

Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 351,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,040,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KeyCorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $476,000. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in KeyCorp by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 84,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 24,627 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in KeyCorp by 58.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in KeyCorp by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 15,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KeyCorp during the second quarter worth $186,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

KeyCorp Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE KEY opened at $22.64 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $24.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.02. KeyCorp has a 52 week low of $16.47 and a 52 week high of $24.07.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.02. KeyCorp had a net margin of 17.83% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. KeyCorp’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that KeyCorp will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. KeyCorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.67%.

KeyCorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 13% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KEY shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of KeyCorp in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of KeyCorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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