Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Zacks Research cut shares of Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on HBAN. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $18.50 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.43.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Up 0.3%

HBAN stock opened at $15.33 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.66 and a 200 day moving average of $16.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Huntington Bancshares has a 52 week low of $14.82 and a 52 week high of $19.45.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business posted $0.34 EPS. Huntington Bancshares has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.930 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were paid a dividend of $0.1550 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kendall Kowalski sold 27,971 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider owned 70,025 shares in the company, valued at $1,204,430. This represents a 28.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the second quarter valued at $3,134,426,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,412,989 shares of the bank’s stock worth $649,115,000 after acquiring an additional 3,182,001 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 27.2% during the 1st 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 stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 30.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 19,502,547 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $305,215,000 after purchasing an additional 4,578,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Huntington Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $256,772,000. 80.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntington Bancshares Company Profile

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.