KeyCorp Hit a New 52-Week High
Shares of KeyCorp (KEY) touched a new 52-week high of $11.09 during its trading session on Jun 27. This represents an increase over the previous high of $11.06 reached on Jun 10.
KeyCorp closed its trading session on Jun 27 at $11.08, reflecting a solid year-to-date return of 48.7%. The trading volume for the session was 9.5 million shares. Further upside potential exists for this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) financial holding company as is evident from its long-term expected earnings growth of 8.1%.
Growth Drivers
KeyCorp posted impressive first quarter 2013 results on Apr 18. Earnings per share came in at 22 cents, above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 20 cents. The outperformance can be attributed to an increase in net income and stable operating expenses, offset partially by a fall in fee income.
Apart from the quarter results, KeyCorp’s policy of rewarding shareholder is worth mentioning. On May 16, the company’s quarterly dividend rate was increased by 10% to 5.5 cents per share. Also, the company has a $426 million worth of share buyback program in force, to be completed by the first quarter of 2014.
Additionally, KeyCorp had a positive earnings surprise in three out of the four trailing quarters with an average of 9.4%. This along with impressive quarter results and the company’s capital deployment policy has raised optimism for a better performance ahead.
Estimate Revisions Show Potency
Over the last 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for KeyCorp increased by 1.2% to 86 cents per share for 2013 and grew by 2.1% to 97 cents for 2014.
Other stocks to watch out for in the industry are Enterprise Financial Services Corp. (EFSC), Old Second Bancorp Inc. (OSBC) and Privatebancorp Inc. (PVTB). Of these, Old Second Bancorp and Privatebancorp carry a Zacks Rank #1(Strong Buy) while Enterprise Financial carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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Read the Full Research Report on PVTB
Read the Full Research Report on EFSC
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