KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $21.21 and last traded at $21.1910, with a volume of 8216283 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on KEY shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on KeyCorp from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on KeyCorp from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of KeyCorp in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.79.

KeyCorp Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.21. The stock has a market cap of $23.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. KeyCorp had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 10.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 172.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.47) EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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 Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. KeyCorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KeyCorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in KeyCorp by 8,775.0% during the second quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 1,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,404 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank purchased a new position in KeyCorp in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in KeyCorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Sachetta LLC lifted its holdings in KeyCorp by 1,246.1% during the third quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 1,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of KeyCorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

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.