HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 971,162 Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated $HBAN

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC sharply increased its stake in Huntington Bancshares, buying 971,162 shares in the fourth quarter and lifting its holdings by 241.7% to 1.37 million shares worth about $23.8 million.
• Huntington Bancshares reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $0.37 EPS versus $0.16 expected and slightly topping revenue estimates at $2.59 billion.
• The bank also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.155 per share, implying a 3.9% annualized yield, while Wall Street maintains a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $20.05.

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) by 241.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,372,888 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 971,162 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of Huntington Bancshares worth $23,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HBAN. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 4.3% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 16,881 shares of the bank's stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Investment Management LP grew its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 1.7% during the third quarter. Glenmede Investment Management LP now owns 43,702 shares of the bank's stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 2.5% during the third quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 29,690 shares of the bank's stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hill Island Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Hill Island Financial LLC now owns 27,377 shares of the bank's stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Bancshares

In related news, VP Scott D. Kleinman sold 65,530 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.28, for a total value of $1,001,298.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 481,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,360,009.28. This trade represents a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James D. Rollins III acquired 3,029 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.05 per share, with a total value of $63,760.45. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,975. This trade represents a 46.81% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $503,822. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

HBAN stock opened at $15.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $32.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.96. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 52-week low of $14.89 and a 52-week high of $19.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

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

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 17th. Huntington Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 47.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HBAN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $18.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Huntington Bancshares from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $18.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Huntington Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.05.

Huntington Bancshares 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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