Czech National Bank Acquires 18,907 Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 333,906 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 18,907 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Huntington Bancshares were worth $5,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 64,926,419 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,056,353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,218,020 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 52,599,986 shares of the bank's stock worth $855,802,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310,502 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 32,479,039 shares of the bank's stock worth $528,434,000 after acquiring an additional 8,759,871 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,825,092 shares of the bank's stock worth $355,094,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth about $302,826,000. 80.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

HBAN remained flat at $15.74 during midday trading on Thursday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 26,114,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,291,586. The company has a market cap of $22.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $14.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.87. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 1 year low of $11.92 and a 1 year high of $18.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 17th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Huntington Bancshares's payout ratio is presently 47.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brantley J. Standridge sold 70,417 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.69, for a total value of $964,008.73. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 326,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,469,182.64. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brendan A. Lawlor sold 3,521 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.25, for a total value of $53,695.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $731,237.50. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 312,456 shares of company stock valued at $4,464,105 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HBAN shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $18.50 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $16.50 target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.83.

About Huntington Bancshares

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.