KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) Sets New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• KeyCorp hit a new 52-week high after announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.205 per share, payable Sept. 15 to shareholders of record on Sept. 1. The annualized dividend is $0.82, implying a 3.4% yield.
• Wall Street analysts remain cautiously positive on the stock, with several firms lifting price targets to the $24–$27 range. MarketBeat says the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $47.34.
• The bank also recently reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, earning $0.44 per share versus estimates of $0.41, while revenue rose 10.2% year over year to $1.95 billion. KeyCorp has also authorized a $3 billion share repurchase program.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $23.87 and last traded at $23.8320, with a volume of 401779 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.53.The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. KeyCorp's dividend payout ratio is 50.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on KeyCorp from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $22.50 to $24.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.34.

KeyCorp Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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

KeyCorp announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 13% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KeyCorp news, insider Angela G. Mago sold 22,826 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.66, for a total value of $494,411.16. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KeyCorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 17,245,128 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of KeyCorp during the 4th quarter worth $262,688,000. North Reef Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of KeyCorp during the 1st quarter worth $253,632,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of KeyCorp during the fourth quarter worth $150,843,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 416.3% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,163,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $147,862,000 after purchasing an additional 5,776,417 shares during the last quarter. 79.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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