Carnegie Investment Counsel Reduces Position in KeyCorp $KEY

Carnegie Investment Counsel trimmed its holdings in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) by 42.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 33,827 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in KeyCorp were worth $909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in KeyCorp by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in KeyCorp by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in KeyCorp by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 44,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $929,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in KeyCorp by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 12,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

KeyCorp Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KEY opened at $23.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.15 and a 200 day moving average of $21.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.02. KeyCorp has a 12-month low of $16.47 and a 12-month high of $23.72.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. KeyCorp had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 10.80%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that KeyCorp will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were paid a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. KeyCorp’s dividend payout ratio is 50.31%.

KeyCorp announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 13% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KEY shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of KeyCorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Susquehanna increased their price target on KeyCorp from $300.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. DA Davidson raised their price target on KeyCorp from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on KeyCorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on KeyCorp from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KeyCorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.34.

Insider Activity at KeyCorp

In related 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 value of $494,411.16. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 281,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,098,676.24. This trade represents a 7.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.