518,782 Shares in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated $HBAN Purchased by Hardy Reed LLC

Key Points

• Hardy Reed LLC initiated a new position in Huntington Bancshares, buying 518,782 shares valued at about $8.1 million in the first quarter. The stake makes HBAN its 26th largest holding and about 0.6% of its portfolio.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and a price target of $20.15, though some firms have trimmed targets or turned more cautious. Recent ratings ranged from an upgrade-like “overweight” to a downgrade to “strong sell.”
• Huntington Bancshares reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.155 per share. The stock was trading at $17.86, below the consensus target and within its recent 12-month range of $14.89 to $19.45.

Hardy Reed LLC acquired a new position in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 518,782 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $8,119,000. Huntington Bancshares comprises about 0.6% of Hardy Reed LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,217 shares of the bank's stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 20,564 shares of the bank's stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Huntington Bancshares by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the bank's stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners increased its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 2.5% in the first quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 27,042 shares of the bank's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the period. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 4.3% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 16,881 shares of the bank's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HBAN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $18.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Barclays cut shares of Huntington Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 15th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.15.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

HBAN opened at $17.86 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 12-month low of $14.89 and a 12-month high of $19.45. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $16.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.90.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.21. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.42% and a net margin of 16.63%.The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Huntington Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 47.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 10,568 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $190,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 267,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,821,462. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director James D. Rollins III sold 223,522 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.35, for a total transaction of $3,878,106.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 612,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,620,889.25. This represents a 26.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 33,500 shares of company stock valued at $617,542. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

About Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated NASDAQ: HBAN is a bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, that provides a broad range of banking and financial services through its principal subsidiary, Huntington National Bank. The company's operations are centered on retail and commercial banking, and it serves individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, and institutional customers.

Huntington's product offerings include traditional deposit and lending products, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage origination and servicing, auto financing, and business banking solutions.

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