Norges Bank Invests $432.58 Million in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated $HBAN

Key Points

• Norges Bank bought a new stake in Huntington Bancshares in the fourth quarter, acquiring 24.9 million shares valued at about $432.6 million, or roughly 1.58% of the company.
• Huntington Bancshares recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $0.37 per share versus the $0.16 consensus and revenue of $2.59 billion, while analysts now expect full-year EPS of 1.61.
• The bank also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.155 per share, equal to a 3.9% annualized yield, even as the stock was down 3.2% and analysts maintained a Moderate Buy consensus target of $20.05.

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 24,932,767 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $432,584,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.58% of Huntington Bancshares as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HBAN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,319,041 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,319,385,000 after purchasing an additional 14,338,222 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $85,690,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 15.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,230,988 shares of the bank's stock worth $594,054,000 after purchasing an additional 4,640,302 shares in the last quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $73,333,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 48.0% during the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 9,676,829 shares of the bank's stock worth $167,119,000 after purchasing an additional 3,138,669 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.72% of the company's stock.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Down 3.2%

HBAN stock opened at $15.83 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a twelve month low of $14.89 and a twelve month high of $19.45. The company's 50 day moving average is $16.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.77. The stock has a market cap of $32.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.94.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $2.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Huntington Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HBAN. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $18.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Barclays cut shares of Huntington Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Huntington Bancshares news, Director James D. Rollins III bought 3,029 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $21.05 per share, for a total transaction of $63,760.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,975. The trade was a 46.81% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott D. Kleinman sold 65,530 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.28, for a total transaction of $1,001,298.40. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 481,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,360,009.28. This trade represents a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 12,712 shares of company stock valued at $246,438. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Huntington Bancshares Company 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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