Analysts Set Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Price Target at $14.97

Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.17.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $14.00 to $15.50 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Bank of America raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Huntington Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Monday, April 8th.

Huntington Bancshares Trading Down 0.2 %

HBAN stock opened at $13.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $19.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.11. Huntington Bancshares has a 52 week low of $9.13 and a 52 week high of $14.07. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.26.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 15.86%. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.58%. Huntington Bancshares’s payout ratio is 55.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Julie C. Tutkovics sold 15,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.68, for a total transaction of $197,059.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 303,455 shares in the company, valued at $3,847,809.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Helga Houston sold 28,700 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.17, for a total value of $377,979.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 568,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,483,483.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Julie C. Tutkovics sold 15,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.68, for a total value of $197,059.88. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 303,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,847,809.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 198,189 shares of company stock valued at $2,664,978. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 2.3% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,794,810 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,066,000 after purchasing an additional 62,674 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,261,000. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,000,872 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,731,000 after purchasing an additional 141,410 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,530 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 199.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 374,289 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,893,000 after buying an additional 249,356 shares in the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated operates as the bank holding company for The Huntington National Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage banking services in the United States. The company offers financial products and services to consumer and business customers, including deposits, lending, payments, mortgage banking, dealer financing, investment management, trust, brokerage, insurance, and other financial products and services.