Huntington Bancshares Incorporated $HBAN Shares Acquired by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 46.4% in the first quarter, buying 130,465 shares and bringing its total holding to 411,736 shares worth about $6.44 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on HBAN, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.15. Several firms recently adjusted targets, including Jefferies raising its target to $20 and Evercore reiterating an outperform rating.
• Huntington reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, posting $0.37 EPS versus the $0.16 estimate, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.155 per share for a 3.5% yield.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) by 46.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 411,736 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 130,465 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Huntington Bancshares were worth $6,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HBAN shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wolfe Research cut their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Stephens began coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Huntington Bancshares currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James D. Rollins III sold 223,522 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 612,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,620,889.25. This represents a 26.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 10,568 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $190,224.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 267,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,821,462. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have bought a total of 33,500 shares of company stock worth $617,542 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of HBAN stock opened at $17.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $36.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.90. 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 Incorporated has a 52-week low of $14.89 and a 52-week high of $19.45.

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

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

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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