Short Interest in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) Rises By 13.8%

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,580,000 shares, a growth of 13.8% from the October 15th total of 15,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 12,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Carlton L. Highsmith sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.14, for a total transaction of $154,260.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 37,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $648,988.96. This trade represents a 19.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Angela G. Mago sold 15,011 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total transaction of $294,065.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 234,582 shares in the company, valued at $4,595,461.38. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KeyCorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KEY. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in KeyCorp by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of KeyCorp by 2.1% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 43,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. Geller Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of KeyCorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of KeyCorp by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 303,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,090,000 after purchasing an additional 25,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 60.5% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 194,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,260,000 after buying an additional 73,384 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

KeyCorp Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:KEY traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $19.15. The company had a trading volume of 653,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,875,873. The company has a market capitalization of $18.98 billion, a PE ratio of 1,916.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.24. KeyCorp has a one year low of $11.64 and a one year high of $20.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $17.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 0.76%. As a group, research analysts forecast that KeyCorp will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KEY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup cut KeyCorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on KeyCorp from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of KeyCorp in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $19.00 target price on KeyCorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KeyCorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.03.

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.