Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Buys New Stake in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has acquired 82,783 shares of Huntington Bancshares, valued at approximately $1,242,000, highlighting growing interest from institutional investors.
• Huntington Bancshares announced a $1 billion stock buyback program, indicating the board's belief that its stock is currently undervalued.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.155, representing a 3.74% yield, with a dividend payout ratio of 45.93%.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 82,783 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,242,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 52,599,986 shares of the bank's stock worth $855,802,000 after purchasing an additional 2,310,502 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 32,479,039 shares of the bank's stock worth $528,434,000 after purchasing an additional 8,759,871 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 9.2% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,828,775 shares of the bank's stock worth $357,670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003,683 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 2.5% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 20,103,485 shares of the bank's stock worth $301,753,000 after purchasing an additional 498,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,422,723 shares of the bank's stock worth $234,658,000 after acquiring an additional 2,241,926 shares during the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HBAN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $16.50 target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Huntington Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $17.50 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.68.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of Huntington Bancshares stock traded down $0.39 on Friday, hitting $16.04. 41,446,866 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 37,740,524. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 12-month low of $11.91 and a 12-month high of $18.44. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.74. The company has a market cap of $23.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.94.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 17th. Huntington Bancshares's payout ratio is presently 45.93%.

Huntington Bancshares declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, April 17th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 13,700 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.79, for a total value of $216,323.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 337,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,335,109.41. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

Huntington Bancshares 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.