Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Stake in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its holdings in shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 71,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,786 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in KeyCorp were worth $1,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KEY. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of KeyCorp in the 4th quarter worth about $128,203,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of KeyCorp in the 4th quarter worth about $64,421,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of KeyCorp in the 1st quarter worth about $42,857,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 26,297.7% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,708,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,698,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 1,051.3% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,569,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,565 shares in the last quarter. 79.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KeyCorp Stock Down 1.6 %

KEY stock traded down $0.27 on Monday, reaching $16.19. 7,264,449 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,831,363. KeyCorp has a one year low of $9.50 and a one year high of $16.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.57.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 8.64% and a net margin of 7.35%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that KeyCorp will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current year.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.06%. KeyCorp’s dividend payout ratio is 103.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KEY shares. Wedbush upped their price objective on KeyCorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on KeyCorp from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on KeyCorp from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on KeyCorp from $17.50 to $16.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on KeyCorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.13.

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.