Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 33,547 Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 4.7%, owning approximately $11.20 million worth of shares as of the end of the first quarter.
• Huntington Bancshares has authorized a $1 billion share repurchase plan, indicating that its board believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.155 per share, representing a dividend yield of 3.9% and a payout ratio of 45.93%.

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 746,251 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 33,547 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.05% of Huntington Bancshares worth $11,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 27.3% in the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 22,694 shares of the bank's stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 4,873 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 256.7% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 66,177 shares of the bank's stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 47,624 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,242,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 20,103,485 shares of the bank's stock worth $301,753,000 after purchasing an additional 498,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 80.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Bancshares

In other news, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 13,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.79, for a total value of $216,323.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 337,879 shares in the company, valued at $5,335,109.41. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $21.00 price objective (up from $18.00) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Huntington Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.68.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of HBAN stock traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $15.87. The company had a trading volume of 23,780,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,774,385. The company has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 12 month low of $11.91 and a 12 month high of $18.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.73.

Huntington Bancshares declared that its board has approved a stock 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 reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

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.