Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) Stock

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target indicates a potential upside of 15.36% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on KeyCorp from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Baird R W downgraded shares of KeyCorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of KeyCorp from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $19.00 target price on shares of KeyCorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on KeyCorp from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.03.

KeyCorp Stock Performance

NYSE:KEY traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $19.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,643,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,916,028. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. KeyCorp has a fifty-two week low of $11.64 and a fifty-two week high of $20.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $17.16 and its 200-day moving average is $15.77. The firm has a market cap of $18.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,901.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.24.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. KeyCorp had a net margin of 0.76% and a return on equity of 8.24%. Equities analysts anticipate that KeyCorp will post 1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at KeyCorp

In other news, Director Carlton L. Highsmith sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.14, for a total transaction of $154,260.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 37,864 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $648,988.96. This represents a 19.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Angela G. Mago sold 15,011 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total transaction of $294,065.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 234,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,595,461.38. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of KeyCorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of KeyCorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $92,413,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in KeyCorp by 280.3% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 3,668,168 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 112.4% in the second 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 raised its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 108.3% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 5,852,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $98,025,000 after buying an additional 3,042,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 164.9% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 4,660,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,066,000 after buying an additional 2,900,971 shares during the period. 79.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About KeyCorp

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.