Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Grows Position in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated $HBAN

Key Points

• Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 50.8%, holding a total of 45,153 shares valued at $763,000 after purchasing additional shares in the 2nd quarter.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds now own 80.72% of Huntington Bancshares, reflecting widespread institutional support for the company.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for Huntington Bancshares, with ratings from several firms indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging around $18.79.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) by 50.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,153 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 15,220 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Huntington Bancshares were worth $763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 1,497.1% in the 2nd quarter. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC now owns 286,896 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,853,000 after purchasing an additional 268,933 shares during the period. City Center Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $220,000. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the first quarter worth about $976,000. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 0.4% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 422,108 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,336,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory increased its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 3.7% during the first quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 34,600 shares of the bank's stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Bancshares

In related news, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 41,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $739,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 299,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,388,498. This represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HBAN. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $21.00 price objective (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Huntington Bancshares from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.79.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

HBAN traded down $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.43. 26,058,044 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,193,642. The company's 50-day moving average is $17.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.81. The company has a market cap of $25.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 12-month low of $11.91 and a 12-month high of $18.44.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Huntington Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 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.