Huntington Bancshares Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 8,196 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 167% compared to the typical volume of 3,068 call options.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of HBAN stock traded down $0.17 on Thursday, hitting $15.10. 9,286,954 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,379,551. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Huntington Bancshares has a 1-year low of $14.82 and a 1-year high of $19.45. The company’s fifty day moving average is $16.82 and its 200 day moving average is $16.67. The company has a market capitalization of $30.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.92.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 11.19%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS. Huntington Bancshares has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.930 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.1550 per share. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 17th. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Kendall Kowalski sold 27,971 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total value of $481,101.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 70,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,204,430. The trade was a 28.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth $3,134,426,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,412,989 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $649,115,000 after acquiring an additional 3,182,001 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 27.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 23,480,601 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $367,388,000 after acquiring an additional 5,026,894 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 30.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 19,502,547 shares of the bank’s stock worth $305,215,000 after acquiring an additional 4,578,566 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $256,772,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HBAN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Evercore dropped their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $18.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.79.

About Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Its principal subsidiary, The Huntington National Bank, provides consumer, small-business and commercial banking services through branch offices, digital banking channels and automated teller machines.

The company offers deposit accounts, residential and commercial mortgages, home equity lending, auto loans, personal lending, credit cards and other consumer financial products. Its business banking operations provide lending, treasury management, payment processing and capital markets services, while its wealth management and insurance businesses serve individuals, families and institutions.

Founded in 1866, Huntington has developed a banking franchise across the Midwest, with a presence in states including Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois and Wisconsin.