Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires 84,497 Shares of KeyCorp $KEY

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group increased its KeyCorp stake by 62.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 84,497 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 220,523 shares worth about $4.55 million.
• KeyCorp’s latest quarterly results were solid, with EPS of $0.44 topping estimates and revenue of $1.95 billion also slightly ahead of expectations. Revenue rose 10.2% year over year.
• The bank announced a $3 billion share repurchase plan and a quarterly dividend of $0.205 per share, implying an annualized yield of 3.8%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Free Report) by 62.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 220,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 84,497 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in KeyCorp were worth $4,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KeyCorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $476,000. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in KeyCorp by 41.4% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 84,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 24,627 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in KeyCorp by 58.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 1,890 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in KeyCorp by 6.5% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 15,097 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in KeyCorp during the second quarter worth $186,000. Institutional investors own 79.69% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Angela G. Mago sold 22,826 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.66, for a total value of $494,411.16. Following the sale, the insider owned 281,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,098,676.24. This represents a 7.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

KeyCorp Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:KEY opened at $21.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $23.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. KeyCorp has a twelve month low of $15.28 and a twelve month high of $23.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.58.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 10.80% and a net margin of 17.03%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that KeyCorp will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KeyCorp announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 13% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 2nd. KeyCorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on KEY. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on KeyCorp from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on KeyCorp from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised KeyCorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.78.

KeyCorp Company 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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