KEY vs PNC Stock Comparison
Compare KEY and PNC across AIQ Score, fundamentals, valuation, momentum, risk, analyst expectations and current market evidence.
What is the main difference between KEY and PNC?
KEY leads the current stock comparison as KeyCorp, with the clearest separation coming from quality and the broader AIQ evidence mix.
AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison
KeyCorp vs The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
KEY leads
KEY leads by 2 AIQ points, primarily on Quality and Value.
Fragile: 2 of 6 evidence groups support KEY, and its signal state is cleanly positive.
KeyCorp
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors KEY over PNC, 53 versus 51 as of Sep 6, 2026. KEY's advantage is driven primarily by stronger quality and value, while PNC holds the stronger risk resilience profile. KEY also shows the weaker technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average. 2 of 6 covered evidence groups favor KEY today, and the comparison is rated Fragile on stability: the AIQ gap is narrow at 2 points. KEY lead: Stable — the AIQ differential has held near 2 points over 30 sessions.
Compare KeyCorp and The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. across the Algovestiq AIQ Score, valuation, quality, momentum, risk, technicals and analyst expectations.
Performance over time
Price-return comparison using available daily close history.
Total return comparison
Growth of $10,000
Based on available close-price history. Distribution reinvestment is not added unless already reflected in the source series.
Compare KEY and PNC against another ticker
Open a multi-ticker workspace without changing this focused pair page.
AIQ Factor Divergence
Where the two separate, on the four dimensions behind the AIQ Score. Bars read outward from a shared zero: further from the centre is a wider gap.
- Risk Resilience15%65 vs 76PNC +11
- Quality30%58 vs 52KEY +6
- Value30%55 vs 51KEY +4
- Momentum25%37 vs 35Even
2 of 6 evidence groups favor KEY. KEY’s edge is concentrated in quality and value; PNC keeps a meaningful risk resilience edge.
What changed since the last close
Latest scored session 2026-09-05, compared against the prior scored session 2026-09-04.
No factor moved materially.
No new signals fired.
No factor moved materially.
No new signals fired.
KEY's lead was unchanged in the latest snapshot.
Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — KEY and PNC both carry a full feed there.
The central trade-off
KEY (KeyCorp): the stronger current systematic profile, led by quality and value.
PNC (The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.): the counter-case, on risk resilience, fundamentals, technicals.
Which one fits your objective
The same two names rank differently depending on what you are optimizing for. All six reads are shown at once — none of them is hidden behind a toggle.
Balanced
KEYKEY on the overall AIQ Score, which weights Quality and Value at 30% each.
Growth
PNCPNC on combined revenue and EPS growth.
Value
KEYKEY on the peer-relative Value factor, by 4 points.
Momentum
EvenThe two are level on Momentum.
Lower downside
PNCPNC on Risk Resilience, by 11 points.
Analyst upside
KEYKEY on implied upside to the consensus price target.
AIQ vs Wall Street
Where the systematic read and the analyst consensus line up — and where they do not.
| Measure | KEY | PNC | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Implied upside to target | +14.5% | +11.4% | KEY has more room |
| Target dispersion | +19.7% | +26% | Lower is tighter analyst agreement |
| Consensus | Buy | Buy | Context, not a primary driver |
| Analysts covering | 8 | 14 | Higher coverage generally improves confidence |
Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions. Dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.
AIQ Agreement Matrix
2 of 6 covered evidence groups favor KEY. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.
| Evidence group | Favors | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| AIQ Score | Even | 53 vs 51 |
| Fundamentals | PNC | revenue growth -24.5% vs 4.4%; EPS growth -2.2% vs 16.5%; TTM ROE 10.1% vs 12.3%; gross margin 64.5% vs 67.9%; operating margin 18.1% vs 26.7% |
| Valuation | KEY | Value 55 vs 51 |
| Technicals | PNC | Price vs 50-day -2.4% vs -1.5%; vs 200-day 3.6% vs 9.3% |
| Risk Resilience | PNC | Risk Resilience 65 vs 76 |
| Analyst expectations | KEY | Target upside 14.5% vs 11.4% |
✓ agrees with the overall verdict · ✕ points the other way. Groups marked “not covered” lack data on one or both of KEY and PNC and are excluded from the count.
AIQ Decision Stability
The conclusion is sensitive to small changes. Treat the lead as provisional and watch the flip conditions below.
- The AIQ gap is narrow at 2 points. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- Only 2 of 6 covered evidence groups agree. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- The lead has been steady session to session. (supports the conclusion holding)
- The leader's signal state is cleanly positive. (supports the conclusion holding)
Stability combines the score gap, how broadly the evidence agrees, how steady the lead has been across daily snapshots, the current signal state on both names, and analyst dispersion on KEY.
How the comparison changed
120 daily snapshots · Apr 24 – Sep 5KEY lead: Stable — the AIQ differential has held near 2 points over 30 sessions.
- Today
- KEY +2
- 53 vs 51
- 7 sessions ago
- KEY +4
- 52 vs 48
- 30 sessions ago
- KEY +1
- 62 vs 61
- 90 sessions ago
- KEY +1
- 62 vs 61
The lead changed hands 7 times in this window, most recently on Aug 19 when KEY moved ahead of PNC.
AIQ Signal Divergence
Only the signals that bear on the head-to-head. A conflicted name is carrying bullish and bearish rules at the same time — the technical evidence is not pointing one way.
2 bullish / 0 bearish / 1 neutral
- Golden Cross Active — bullish, trend, long horizon (6.05%)
- Bollinger Band Squeeze — neutral, volatility, short horizon
- MACD Bullish Crossover — bullish, momentum, short horizon
1 bullish / 1 bearish, conflicted
- Golden Cross Active — bullish, trend, long horizon (11.02%)
- MACD Bearish Crossover — bearish, momentum, short horizon
PNC is conflicted, so the timing case there is weaker than the score alone suggests.
Price vs model alignment
Whether the latest session's price move confirms what the model did over the same session, or contradicts it.
Neither the price nor the AIQ Score moved enough in the latest session to confirm or contradict the other (price +0.27%, AIQ 0 points).
Neither the price nor the AIQ Score moved enough in the latest session to confirm or contradict the other (price +0.17%, AIQ 0 points).
What would flip this result
A state, not a forecast. These are the specific, observable changes that would reverse the verdict — not a price prediction.
- 1PNC closes the Quality gap — currently 6 points behind, the largest single contributor to KEY's edge.
- 2PNC's MACD Bearish Crossover resolves — a bearish momentum rule currently active against it.
- 3KEY's Golden Cross Active breaks down — it is the strongest rule currently supporting the verdict.
- 4A regime shift changes factor weighting — the composite weights Quality and Value at 30% each, so a rotation toward either would move the result most.
The full evidence
Every number behind the verdict. The leader is called above each group so you are not left to solve it from the table.
Fundamentals
PNC leads on balance| Metric | KEY | PNC |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth (YoY) | -24.5% | 4.4% |
| EPS growth (YoY) | -2.2% | 16.5% |
| Gross margin | 64.5% | 67.9% |
| Operating margin | 18.1% | 26.7% |
| Return on equity (TTM) | 10.1% | 12.3% |
| Debt to equity | 0.74 | 1.34 |
Performance
PNC leads 5 of 6 windows| Metric | KEY | PNC |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week (5 sessions) | 1.2% | 1.4% |
| 1 month (20 sessions) | -2.4% | -2.8% |
| 3 months (63 sessions) | 1.9% | 7.5% |
| 6 months (126 sessions) | 11.7% | 19.2% |
| Year to date | 7.5% | 17.7% |
| 1 year (252 sessions) | 17% | 19.8% |
Technicals
PNC has the stronger structure| Metric | KEY | PNC |
|---|---|---|
| RSI (14) | 36.9 | 35.7 |
| ADX (14) | 17.7 | 14.7 |
| Price vs 50-day | -2.4% | -1.5% |
| Price vs 200-day | 3.6% | 9.3% |
| Volatility (1M, annualized) | 20.6% | 17.9% |
Risk
PNC is the more resilient| Metric | KEY | PNC |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | 0.8 | 0.57 |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.57 | 0.71 |
| Sortino ratio | 0.78 | 1.01 |
| Max drawdown | -18.6% | -17.2% |
| Current drawdown | -7.5% | -4.4% |
| Annualized volatility | 23.6% | 21.6% |
| Value at risk (95%) | -2.2% | -2.2% |
Straight answers
Each answer is regenerated from the current snapshot, not written once and left to age.
Which is better, KEY or PNC?
On the Algovestiq AIQ Score, KEY is the stronger of the two as of Sep 6, 2026, scoring 53 against PNC's 51. The edge comes from quality and value. PNC is not without a case — it holds the better risk resilience profile, which matters more if that is the objective you are optimizing for. This is a systematic score, not a recommendation: it ranks the two on the same evidence, it does not know your holding period or tax position.
Is KEY or PNC the better buy right now?
KEY carries the stronger systematic profile as of Sep 6, 2026, and the comparison is rated Fragile — 2 of 6 covered evidence groups agree. A Fragile rating means the conclusion is sensitive: the AIQ gap is narrow at 2 points. Treat the lead as provisional.
Why does the AIQ Score favor KEY over PNC?
The composite weights Quality at 30%, Value at 30%, Momentum at 25% and Risk Resilience at 15%. PNC leads Risk Resilience by 11 points; KEY leads Quality by 6 points; KEY leads Value by 4 points. Where the two split, the factor with the larger weight carries the result.
Which has more analyst upside, KEY or PNC?
Analyst price targets imply +14.5% upside for KEY and +11.4% for PNC, so the Street currently favors KEY. The model and the Street agree here, which is a broader base of evidence than either alone. Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions, and dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.
Which is better value, KEY or PNC?
KEY is the better-valued of the two on the peer-relative Value factor. KEY on the peer-relative Value factor, by 4 points. The Value factor reads valuation relative to sector peers and to the company's own fundamental quality, so it is not the same as simply having the lower multiple.
Which has stronger growth, KEY or PNC?
PNC on combined revenue and EPS growth. Growth here is measured on reported revenue and earnings, not on forward estimates — it describes what the businesses have delivered, not what the Street expects next.
Which has stronger momentum, KEY or PNC?
The two are level on Momentum. Momentum carries 25% of the AIQ composite. It has documented persistence over three- to twelve-month horizons, which makes it a timing input rather than a reason to hold something indefinitely.
Which is riskier, KEY or PNC?
PNC is the more resilient of the two, so the other name carries the higher downside risk. PNC on Risk Resilience, by 11 points. The Risk Resilience factor weights 15% of the composite; position sizing usually responds to it more usefully than the buy/avoid decision does.
Is KEY more profitable than PNC?
PNC leads on the comparable margin measures — gross margin 64.5% vs 67.9%; operating margin 18.1% vs 26.7%; ttm roe 10.1% vs 12.3%.
Is KEY's lead over PNC getting stronger or weaker?
KEY lead: Stable — the AIQ differential has held near 2 points over 30 sessions. This is measured from 120 daily comparison snapshots between 2026-04-24 and 2026-09-05. The lead has changed hands 7 times in that window, most recently on 2026-08-19, when KEY moved ahead of PNC.
What would change the KEY vs PNC verdict?
The result is a state, not a forecast, so it changes when the underlying evidence changes. Concretely: PNC closes the Quality gap — currently 6 points behind, the largest single contributor to KEY's edge; PNC's MACD Bearish Crossover resolves — a bearish momentum rule currently active against it; KEY's Golden Cross Active breaks down — it is the strongest rule currently supporting the verdict; a regime shift changes factor weighting — the composite weights Quality and Value at 30% each, so a rotation toward either would move the result most.
What do the current signals say about KEY and PNC?
KEY: 2 bullish / 0 bearish / 1 neutral. PNC: 1 bullish / 1 bearish, conflicted. A conflicted state means bullish and bearish rules are active on the same name at once — the technical evidence is not pointing one way, and a decision taken on it carries more timing risk. The most decision-relevant rule on KEY is Golden Cross Active (bullish, long horizon). On PNC it is Golden Cross Active (bullish, long horizon).
Compare KEY and PNC with others
How this comparison is scored
The Algovestiq AIQ Score composites four factors — Quality (30%), Value (30%), Momentum (25%) and Risk (15%). Sentiment is reported separately as SentimentPulse and is not folded into the composite. Scores refresh every trading day, and this page regenerates from the latest snapshot rather than being written once.
The verdict names a leader, states how broadly six independent evidence groups agree, and rates how durable that conclusion is given the score gap, its recent trajectory and the current signal state on both names.
How to use side-by-side comparison →This comparison is informational and educational, not investment advice. AIQ scores update daily; re-check after earnings, guidance or macro data that materially changes either name’s factor profile.