Reviewing NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) & KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY)

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) and KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares NBT Bancorp and KeyCorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NBT Bancorp	$574.44 million	3.58	$140.64 million	$2.96	14.68
KeyCorp	$4.39 billion	4.04	-$161.00 million	($0.30)	-53.55

NBT Bancorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue than KeyCorp. KeyCorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NBT Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for NBT Bancorp and KeyCorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NBT Bancorp	0	2	2	1	2.80
KeyCorp	0	8	11	0	2.58

NBT Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $51.75, indicating a potential upside of 19.08%. KeyCorp has a consensus target price of $19.64, indicating a potential upside of 22.25%. Given KeyCorp’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe KeyCorp is more favorable than NBT Bancorp.

Dividends

NBT Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. KeyCorp pays an annual dividend of $0.82 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. NBT Bancorp pays out 45.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. KeyCorp pays out -273.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. NBT Bancorp has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years. KeyCorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

58.5% of NBT Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.7% of KeyCorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.3% of NBT Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of KeyCorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares NBT Bancorp and KeyCorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NBT Bancorp	17.84%	9.39%	1.02%
KeyCorp	-2.52%	8.73%	0.63%

Risk & Volatility

NBT Bancorp has a beta of 0.48, indicating that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, KeyCorp has a beta of 1.26, indicating that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

NBT Bancorp beats KeyCorp on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NBT Bancorp

NBT Bancorp Inc., a financial holding company, provides commercial banking, retail banking, and wealth management services. Its deposit products include demand deposit, savings, negotiable order of withdrawal, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts. The company's loan portfolio comprises indirect and direct consumer, home equity, mortgages, business banking loans, and commercial loans; commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, agricultural, and commercial construction loans; and residential real estate loans. It also provides trust and investment services; financial planning and life insurance services; and retirement plan administration and recordkeeping services. In addition, the company offers insurance products comprising personal property and casualty, business liability, and commercial insurance, as well as other products and services through 24-hour online, mobile, and telephone channels that enable customers to check balances, make deposits, transfer funds, pay bills, access statements, apply for loans, and access various other products and services. Further, it operates as a property management and passive investment company, as well as investment advisor that provides investment management and financial consulting services. The company operates in upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Hampshire, western Massachusetts, Vermont, southern Maine, and central and northwestern Connecticut. NBT Bancorp Inc. was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in Norwich, New York.

About KeyCorp

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. It also provides a suite of banking and capital market products, such as syndicated finance, debt and equity capital market products, commercial payments, equipment finance, commercial mortgage banking, derivatives, foreign exchange, financial advisory, and public finance, as well as commercial mortgage loans to consumer, energy, healthcare, industrial, public sector, real estate, and technology sectors for middle market clients. In addition, the company offers community development financing, securities underwriting, brokerage, and investment banking services. The company was founded in 1849 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.