Vise Technologies Inc. Takes $682,000 Position in KeyCorp $KEY

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 29,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $682,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KeyCorp during the second quarter worth $2,039,113,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 90.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,370,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $679,768,000 after buying an additional 17,245,128 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in KeyCorp during the second quarter worth about $380,244,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in KeyCorp during the fourth quarter worth about $262,688,000. Finally, North Reef Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in KeyCorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $253,632,000. 79.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on KEY. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of KeyCorp in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on KeyCorp from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Argus raised KeyCorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stephens assumed coverage on KeyCorp in a research report on Monday, June 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on KeyCorp from $22.50 to $24.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.14.

KeyCorp Price Performance

Shares of KEY stock opened at $21.89 on Monday. KeyCorp has a 12 month low of $16.47 and a 12 month high of $24.07. The company 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $22.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 17.83%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. Analysts predict that KeyCorp will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

KeyCorp declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 13% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. KeyCorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.67%.

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.