Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) Stock Price

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $24.00 to $25.00 in a research report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 7.83% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on KEY. Stephens started coverage on KeyCorp in a report on Monday, June 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of KeyCorp in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of KeyCorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KeyCorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.55.

KeyCorp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KEY opened at $23.18 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $25.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.27. KeyCorp has a twelve month low of $16.47 and a twelve month high of $23.72.

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

KeyCorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 13% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Angela G. Mago sold 22,826 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.66, for a total transaction of $494,411.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 281,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,098,676.24. This represents a 7.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KeyCorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEY. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of KeyCorp by 5,317.0% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,350,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325,588 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in KeyCorp by 797.9% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 897,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,526,000 after purchasing an additional 797,599 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in KeyCorp by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,602,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,638,000 after buying an additional 721,421 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in KeyCorp by 68.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 204,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,428,000 after acquiring an additional 83,367 shares during the period. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in KeyCorp by 130.6% during the third quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 584,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,924,000 after purchasing an additional 330,967 shares in the last quarter. 79.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About KeyCorp

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.