Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY)

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 16,972 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 60% compared to the average volume of 10,582 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KeyCorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEY. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in KeyCorp by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 64,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 12,206 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 72,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 2,501 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 79,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 5,210 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,110,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,946,000 after acquiring an additional 23,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,812,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,504,000 after acquiring an additional 42,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

KeyCorp Stock Up 1.6 %

KEY opened at $14.48 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. KeyCorp has a one year low of $9.10 and a one year high of $15.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.28.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. KeyCorp had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The business’s revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. Analysts anticipate that KeyCorp will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. KeyCorp’s payout ratio is 103.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KEY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on KeyCorp from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on KeyCorp from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on KeyCorp from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on KeyCorp from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on KeyCorp from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.00.

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.