KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) Short Interest Down 24.8% in April

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) saw a large drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 21,050,000 shares, a drop of 24.8% from the March 31st total of 28,000,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 15,780,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

KeyCorp Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of KEY opened at $14.70 on Friday. KeyCorp has a one year low of $8.53 and a one year high of $15.86. The company has a market cap of $13.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.54.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. KeyCorp had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that KeyCorp will post 1.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on KeyCorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on KeyCorp from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on KeyCorp from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on KeyCorp from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on KeyCorp from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Douglas M. Schosser sold 3,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total value of $46,564.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,130. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Kenneth C. Gavrity sold 2,376 shares of KeyCorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.03, for a total transaction of $33,335.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 98,120 shares in the company, valued at $1,376,623.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Douglas M. Schosser sold 3,326 shares of KeyCorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total value of $46,564.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,130. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,442 shares of company stock worth $303,914 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KeyCorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 3.2% during the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,342,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $348,006,000 after buying an additional 993,215 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 14.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 31,781,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $341,969,000 after purchasing an additional 3,992,226 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in shares of KeyCorp in the third quarter worth $274,773,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,416,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $337,191,000 after purchasing an additional 289,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 8.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $116,702,000 after purchasing an additional 880,139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

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.