Gabelli Funds LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated $HBAN

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC increased its Huntington Bancshares stake by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 87,750 additional shares to bring its total holdings to 497,750 shares worth about $8.64 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 80.72% of the company’s stock; several major firms also recently added to their positions.
• Huntington Bancshares posted better-than-expected quarterly results, reporting EPS of $0.37 versus the $0.16 estimate, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $20.05.

Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 497,750 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 87,750 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Huntington Bancshares were worth $8,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,319,041 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,319,385,000 after purchasing an additional 14,338,222 shares during the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $85,690,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,230,988 shares of the bank's stock worth $594,054,000 after purchasing an additional 4,640,302 shares during the last quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $73,333,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 48.0% during the 3rd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 9,676,829 shares of the bank's stock worth $167,119,000 after purchasing an additional 3,138,669 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Huntington Bancshares

In other Huntington Bancshares news, VP Scott D. Kleinman sold 65,530 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.28, for a total transaction of $1,001,298.40. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 481,676 shares in the company, valued at $7,360,009.28. This represents a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Prashant Nateri sold 10,171 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.50, for a total transaction of $157,650.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 83,819 shares in the company, valued at $1,299,194.50. This trade represents a 10.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased 39,200 shares of company stock valued at $756,724 over the last three months. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HBAN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Evercore lowered 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 note on Monday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.05.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:HBAN opened at $15.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50-day moving average is $15.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.74. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 1 year low of $14.89 and a 1 year high of $19.45.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.57 billion. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 16.63% and a return on equity of 11.42%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Huntington Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 47.69%.

Huntington Bancshares Company Profile

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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