Azora Capital LP Sells 4,883,692 Shares of KeyCorp $KEY

Key Points

• Azora Capital LP sold 4,883,692 shares of KeyCorp, cutting its stake by 91.0% to 485,316 shares valued at $9.07 million at quarter-end.
• Company insiders have sold a total of 161,506 shares worth $3.60 million in the past 90 days (notable sales by Trina M. Evans and Andrew J. Paine III), leaving insiders with about 0.52% of the stock.
• KeyCorp reported Q results of $0.41 EPS (beats $0.39) and revenue of $5.45 billion (up 131.8% YoY), pays a $0.205 quarterly dividend (4.3% yield), and carries a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” with a $23.03 target.

Azora Capital LP lessened its holdings in shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Free Report) by 91.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 485,316 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,883,692 shares during the quarter. Azora Capital LP's holdings in KeyCorp were worth $9,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KEY. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 2,258.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,572,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463,880 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,013,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,641,000 after buying an additional 53,682 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of KeyCorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,253,000. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 575,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,018,000 after buying an additional 51,705 shares during the period. Finally, HoldCo Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of KeyCorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $86,995,000. Institutional investors own 79.69% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KeyCorp news, Director Trina M. Evans sold 32,695 shares of KeyCorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.74, for a total value of $710,789.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 58,719 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,276,551.06. The trade was a 35.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Paine III sold 65,961 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.23, for a total value of $1,532,274.03. Following the sale, the insider owned 166,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,869,723.09. The trade was a 28.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 161,506 shares of company stock worth $3,597,481 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

KeyCorp Stock Performance

NYSE KEY opened at $18.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $21.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.67. KeyCorp has a 12-month low of $12.73 and a 12-month high of $23.34. The company has a market capitalization of $20.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. KeyCorp had a net margin of 15.97% and a return on equity of 10.28%. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 131.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that KeyCorp will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. KeyCorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KEY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus increased their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on KeyCorp from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on KeyCorp from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Evercore increased their target price on KeyCorp from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on KeyCorp from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.03.

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.

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