We recently published a list of 11 Stocks on Jim Cramer’s Radar. In this article, we are going to take a look at where KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) stands against other stocks that are on Jim Cramer’s radar.
Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, recently shared his thoughts on the role tariffs play in the market. While he acknowledged that Wall Street generally despises tariffs, he admitted to having a somewhat different perspective, expressing that he actually likes tariffs, but only when their application is certain.
According to Cramer, uncertainty surrounding tariffs contributes significantly to market instability, especially for sectors that are ill-prepared to absorb the impact of new trade policies. One sector that Cramer singled out as particularly vulnerable to the effects of higher tariffs is retail. He pointed out:
“Retail, are you kidding me? We stopped making things in this country years ago. As part of the bargain we have with Mexico and China where Americans get cheap goods, much cheaper than we could possibly make here, in return for wiping out almost a hundred percent of our manufacturing capacity.”
READ ALSO: Jim Cramer Said These 13 Stocks Can Hold Their Value Amid Tariffs and Jim Cramer Thoughts on 8 Stocks As He Discussed Market Froth
The arrangement, Cramer explained, was a deal embraced by both Republicans and Democrats alike. He likened it to a “reverse poltergeist” situation where jobs were moved, but the foundational industries remained behind. The shift left many former manufacturing workers, such as seamstresses and laborers skilled in operating heavy machinery, without the means to return to their old positions.
As Cramer put it, there is no longer any real expertise in these areas in the U.S., and even if there were, it would come at a significantly higher cost to produce locally. He stressed that, given these circumstances, it is nearly impossible for U.S. retail to compete in a space that relies heavily on imports. He added:
“I don’t want to be too dire about this everyday lower price initiative by the President of the United States, but because this is a stock show, I have to tell you something, at times I’m gonna say it, I’ve been missing old President Biden.”
He remarked that, despite Biden’s apparent disdain for business interests, at least the former president remained consistent in his stance, even if he did not fully understand the stock market. In a departure from his usual commentary, Cramer even expressed a certain nostalgia for the policies of former President Biden.
“Here’s the bottom line: Wall Street hates tariffs, but what it hates even more is inconsistency and unpredictability. I’m actually pro-tariff. That’s not the point. I think the market would be in much better shape if President Trump used what I would call rapidly escalating tariffs. You start them at 15%, you go up 5% every single weekend and you stop at 50% because at least we then have some clarity and what’s coming and more important, when it will occur.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 11 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on February 27. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment as of the fourth quarter of 2024, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of over 1,000 hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
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KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 43
A caller mentioned that they plan to buy KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) for the dividend and asked if it was time to add some shares since the stock pulled back. Here’s what Cramer said in response:
“Okay, so Jeff Marks and I were kicking things around. I said, we gotta own more banks… and I said, how about Key for the Charitable Trust because of that dividend? You’re onto something. I like your thinking. We had Chris Gorman on. Seems like a terrific guy.”
KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) is a holding company for the KeyBank National Association, offering a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services, including loans, investments, wealth management, capital market services, and financial advisory to both individual and institutional clients. In October 2024, Cramer explained what was going on with the company and Scotiabank as he said:
“KeyCorp made some mistakes with its bond portfolio that severely damaged its earnings power when bond yields soared and bond prices got clobbered. Now, if the Fed is our friend, that won’t be a problem anymore… Plus, a couple of months ago, we learned that the Bank of Nova Scotia, also known as Scotiabank, will be paying $2.8 billion to take a nearly 15% stake in KeyCorp. Oh, man. It’s a complex transaction, which will take place in three tranches.
… But what matters is Scotiabank’s investment gives KeyCorp a much better capital cushion that it can use to reposition its investment portfolio. I think this is a nice reset opportunity for KeyCorp. And I’d be buying it right along the side of the Canadians, especially since the stock currently yields nearly 5%. In fact, with KeyCorp trading at $16 and change, you know, you’re actually getting a slightly better price than the $17.17 per share Scotiabank’s paying for its stake. That sounds good to me.”
Overall, KEY ranks 8th on our list of stocks that are on Jim Cramer’s radar. While we acknowledge the potential of KEY as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than KEY but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.