Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in KeyCorp $KEY

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 301,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,735 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in KeyCorp were worth $6,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in KeyCorp during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in KeyCorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KeyCorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KeyCorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of KeyCorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KEY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus raised shares of KeyCorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stephens initiated coverage on KeyCorp in a research report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on KeyCorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded KeyCorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on KeyCorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.14.

KeyCorp Stock Performance

NYSE:KEY opened at $22.02 on Friday. KeyCorp has a 52 week low of $16.47 and a 52 week high of $24.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $23.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 17.83%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that KeyCorp will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KeyCorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 13% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 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.