Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $20.00 target price on the bank’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $17.50 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cowen initiated coverage on Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.83.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HBAN opened at $15.32 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Huntington Bancshares has a 12 month low of $11.92 and a 12 month high of $18.45. The company has a market capitalization of $22.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $14.54 and its 200 day moving average is $15.97.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 16.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.33%.

Huntington Bancshares announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 17th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Zachary Jacob Wasserman sold 38,451 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.38, for a total value of $552,925.38. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 335,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,825,036.44. This represents a 10.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brantley J. Standridge sold 70,417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.69, for a total value of $964,008.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 326,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,469,182.64. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 312,456 shares of company stock valued at $4,464,105. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 220.9% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,666,949 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,661,000 after acquiring an additional 2,524,077 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 850,139 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,832,000 after purchasing an additional 129,106 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth about $422,000. Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,460,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $189,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Bancshares Company Profile

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.