Ethic Inc. Lowers Holdings in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Ethic Inc. lowered its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) by 43.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 184,320 shares of the bank's stock after selling 140,860 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Huntington Bancshares were worth $2,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HBAN. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 220.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,524,077 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 17.9% during 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 period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $422,000. Donoghue Forlines LLC acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,460,000. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 314,999 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,125,000 after purchasing an additional 19,123 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HBAN shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Argus set a $17.00 target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $18.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $17.50 to $17.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brendan A. Lawlor sold 3,521 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $731,237.50. This represents a 6.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brantley J. Standridge sold 70,417 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.69, for a total transaction of $964,008.73. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 326,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,469,182.64. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 312,456 shares of company stock valued at $4,464,105 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Up 0.5%

HBAN stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $16.18. The stock had a trading volume of 15,202,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,771,652. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a one year low of $11.92 and a one year 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 company's 50 day moving average is $14.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.97. The company has a market capitalization of $23.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.89.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Huntington Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.33%.

Huntington Bancshares declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.