Helga Houston Sells 42,345 Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Stock

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) insider Helga Houston sold 42,345 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.72, for a total value of $623,318.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 592,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,715,991.68. This represents a 6.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HBAN opened at $15.08 on Friday. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 52-week low of $11.92 and a 52-week high of $18.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $14.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.97. The stock has a market cap of $22.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.89.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 11.23%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 17th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Huntington Bancshares by 220.9% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,666,949 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,661,000 after buying an additional 2,524,077 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 850,139 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,832,000 after acquiring an additional 129,106 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $422,000. Donoghue Forlines LLC acquired a new stake in Huntington Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,460,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Huntington Bancshares by 3.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,797,771 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,901,000 after purchasing an additional 55,602 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HBAN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $16.50 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $18.50 to $16.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.45.

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.