Synovus Financial Corp Invests $2.25 Million in KeyCorp $KEY

Synovus Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 120,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,253,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KEY. United Community Bank acquired a new stake in KeyCorp during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sachetta LLC increased its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 1,246.1% during the third quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 1,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in KeyCorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in KeyCorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in KeyCorp by 252.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603 shares during the period. 79.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KeyCorp Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of KEY opened at $22.17 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.10. KeyCorp has a 12-month low of $12.73 and a 12-month high of $23.34.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. KeyCorp had a net margin of 15.97% and a return on equity of 10.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 131.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that KeyCorp will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. KeyCorp’s payout ratio is 53.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Trina M. Evans sold 32,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.74, for a total value of $710,789.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,551.06. This represents a 35.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Paine III sold 65,961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.23, for a total transaction of $1,532,274.03. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 166,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,869,723.09. This trade represents a 28.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 161,506 shares of company stock worth $3,597,481. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on KEY. Evercore upped their price objective on KeyCorp from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of KeyCorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Argus upped their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of KeyCorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.87.

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.