Federated Hermes Inc. Acquires 498,182 Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 2.5%, acquiring an additional 498,182 shares to own a total of 20,103,485 shares, valued at approximately $301.75 million.
• Huntington Bancshares initiated a $1 billion share buyback plan on April 17, allowing the company to repurchase up to 5% of its shares, indicating management believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.155 per share, set to be paid on October 1, representing an annualized yield of 3.73%.

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,103,485 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 498,182 shares during the quarter. Huntington Bancshares makes up about 0.7% of Federated Hermes Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 1.38% of Huntington Bancshares worth $301,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 2.4% during the first quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,023 shares of the bank's stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 18.3% during the first quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,579 shares of the bank's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 20,019 shares of the bank's stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 5.5% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 16,073 shares of the bank's stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 12,013 shares of the bank's stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HBAN. Citigroup boosted their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Huntington Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $17.50 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective 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 given 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.68.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Down 2.3%

NASDAQ HBAN traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.06. 34,248,328 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,630,551. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business's 50-day moving average is $16.42 and its 200-day moving average is $15.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.93. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a twelve month low of $11.91 and a twelve month high of $18.44.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Huntington Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.93%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Huntington Bancshares

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

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.