Soviero Asset Management LP Trims Stock Holdings in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Soviero Asset Management LP lowered its position in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) by 40.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 150,000 shares of the bank's stock after selling 100,000 shares during the quarter. Soviero Asset Management LP's holdings in Huntington Bancshares were worth $2,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Huntington Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth about $302,826,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Huntington Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth about $150,444,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 32,479,039 shares of the bank's stock worth $528,434,000 after purchasing an additional 8,759,871 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 126.6% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 7,048,773 shares of the bank's stock worth $114,684,000 after purchasing an additional 3,938,769 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 17,435,207 shares of the bank's stock worth $286,460,000 after purchasing an additional 3,671,235 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on HBAN shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $18.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen started coverage on Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Argus set a $17.00 price target on Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $16.50 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brendan A. Lawlor sold 3,521 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.25, for a total transaction of $53,695.25. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,950 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $731,237.50. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott D. Kleinman sold 69,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.67, for a total value of $1,013,520.96. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 453,129 shares in the company, valued at $6,647,402.43. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 312,456 shares of company stock valued at $4,464,105 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

Huntington Bancshares Trading Down 0.7%

Huntington Bancshares stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $15.32. The company had a trading volume of 25,782,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,007,272. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $14.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.97. The firm has a market cap of $22.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.89. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 12-month low of $11.92 and a 12-month high of $18.45.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 16.23%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. Huntington Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.33%.

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

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.