Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Sells 66,432 Shares of KeyCorp $KEY

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lessened its stake in shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,353,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 66,432 shares during the period. KeyCorp accounts for 1.2% of Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned 0.13% of KeyCorp worth $31,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in KeyCorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in KeyCorp during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in KeyCorp during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in KeyCorp during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co bought a new stake in KeyCorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on KeyCorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of KeyCorp in a research report on Friday, August 7th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of KeyCorp in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on KeyCorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on KeyCorp from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.14.

KeyCorp Stock Performance

NYSE KEY opened at $22.10 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $22.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.78. KeyCorp has a 52-week low of $16.47 and a 52-week high of $24.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.03.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.44 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 business 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 business earned $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that KeyCorp will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. KeyCorp’s dividend payout ratio is 47.67%.

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

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.