Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY)

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 60,344 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 646% compared to the average daily volume of 8,086 call options.

KeyCorp Price Performance

NYSE KEY traded down $0.28 on Monday, reaching $19.20. The company had a trading volume of 6,551,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,638,264. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $17.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.12. KeyCorp has a 12 month low of $12.76 and a 12 month high of $20.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.03 billion, a PE ratio of 1,916.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.03. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 0.76%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that KeyCorp will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. KeyCorp’s payout ratio is currently 8,200.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup downgraded shares of KeyCorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on KeyCorp from $18.50 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on KeyCorp from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.26.

Insider Transactions at KeyCorp

In other news, insider Angela G. Mago sold 15,011 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total transaction of $294,065.49. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 234,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,595,461.38. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carlton L. Highsmith sold 9,000 shares of KeyCorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.14, for a total value of $154,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 37,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $648,988.96. The trade was a 19.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in KeyCorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $92,413,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 280.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,976,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,364,000 after buying an additional 3,668,168 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 112.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 6,647,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,459,000 after buying an additional 3,517,755 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 108.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 5,852,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $98,025,000 after purchasing an additional 3,042,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 164.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 4,660,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,066,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900,971 shares in the last quarter. 79.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KeyCorp Company Profile

KeyCorp operates as the holding company for KeyBank National Association that provides various retail and commercial banking products and services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Consumer Bank and Commercial Bank. The company offers various deposits, investment products and services; commercial leasing, investment management, consumer finance; and personal finance and financial wellness, student loan refinancing, mortgage and home equity, lending, credit card, treasury, business advisory, wealth management, asset management, cash management, portfolio management, and trust and related services to individuals and small and medium-sized businesses.