Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.83.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HBAN shares. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $16.50 target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th.

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In other news, VP Brendan A. Lawlor sold 3,521 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.25, for a total transaction of $53,695.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,950 shares in the company, valued at $731,237.50. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott D. Kleinman sold 69,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.67, for a total transaction of $1,013,520.96. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 453,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,647,402.43. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 312,456 shares of company stock worth $4,464,105. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 17,533.3% during the 4th quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 1,587 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 73.0% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,929 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 126.8% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,830 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of HBAN opened at $15.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $14.60 and a 200-day moving average of $15.92. The company has a market cap of $22.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.89. Huntington Bancshares has a one year low of $11.92 and a one year high of $18.45.

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

Huntington Bancshares declared that its board has authorized 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 generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 47.33%.

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.