Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 103,400 Huntington Bancshares Incorporated $HBAN

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Huntington Bancshares, buying 103,400 shares valued at about $1.62 million in the first quarter.
• Huntington Bancshares reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $0.37 EPS versus the $0.16 estimate, while revenue came in slightly above expectations at $2.59 billion.
• The bank recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.155 per share, implying an annual yield of about 3.4%, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with a price target of $20.15.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 103,400 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,618,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 14,338,222 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Huntington Bancshares by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,228,656 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,351,806,000 after acquiring an additional 3,438,501 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 4,265.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 70,083,841 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,215,955,000 after purchasing an additional 68,478,435 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 3.9% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 63,302,953 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,091,615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363,905 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 62,971,849 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,092,562,000 after purchasing an additional 3,908,927 shares in the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Huntington Bancshares stock opened at $18.11 on Thursday. 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. The company has a market capitalization of $36.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average of $16.56 and a 200 day moving average of $16.90.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $2.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. Huntington Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 47.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Huntington Bancshares news, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 10,568 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $190,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 267,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,821,462. The trade was a 3.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director James D. Rollins III sold 223,522 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.35, for a total value of $3,878,106.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 612,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,620,889.25. The trade was a 26.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 33,500 shares of company stock worth $617,542. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Truist Financial dropped their price target 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. Weiss Ratings cut Huntington Bancshares from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays lowered Huntington Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Huntington Bancshares has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.15.

About Huntington Bancshares

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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