Bank of Nova Scotia Buys Shares of 157,762,958 KeyCorp $KEY

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia acquired 157.8 million KeyCorp shares worth approximately $3.64 billion, making KeyCorp its largest holding and representing about 14.78% of the bank.
• Institutional investors own approximately 79.69% of KeyCorp. Analyst sentiment is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $49.14, despite ratings ranging from sell to strong buy.
• KeyCorp reported quarterly EPS of $0.44, exceeding estimates, and announced a $0.205 quarterly dividend alongside authorization for a $3 billion share-repurchase program.

Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 157,762,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,636,436,000. KeyCorp comprises about 5.5% of Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 14.78% of KeyCorp as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 124,811,543 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,576,110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,323 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KeyCorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,039,113,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 90.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,370,694 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $679,768,000 after purchasing an additional 17,245,128 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in KeyCorp by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,983,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $493,048,000 after purchasing an additional 115,968 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in KeyCorp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,027,471 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $434,007,000 after buying an additional 238,514 shares during the last quarter. 79.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on KeyCorp from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $22.50 to $24.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered KeyCorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $300.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.14.

KeyCorp Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of KeyCorp stock opened at $21.89 on Friday. KeyCorp has a 12-month low of $16.47 and a 12-month high of $24.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.03. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $22.91 and its 200-day moving average is $21.79.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 17.83%.KeyCorp's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that KeyCorp will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. KeyCorp's payout ratio is presently 47.67%.

KeyCorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 buy up to 13% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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