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

Soviero Asset Management LP cut its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) by 40.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F 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.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 64,926,419 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,056,353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,218,020 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 52,599,986 shares of the bank's stock valued at $855,802,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310,502 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 32,479,039 shares of the bank's stock valued at $528,434,000 after acquiring an additional 8,759,871 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,825,092 shares of the bank's stock valued at $355,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,606 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $302,826,000. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HBAN. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Cowen began coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $18.50 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $16.50 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huntington Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.83.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HBAN traded up $0.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $15.43. The company had a trading volume of 28,809,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,952,159. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 12 month low of $11.92 and a 12 month high of $18.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $14.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. Huntington Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.33%.

Huntington Bancshares announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 17th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In other Huntington Bancshares news, CFO Zachary Jacob Wasserman sold 38,451 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.38, for a total transaction of $552,925.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 335,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,825,036.44. This represents a 10.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brendan A. Lawlor sold 3,521 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.25, for a total transaction of $53,695.25. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,950 shares of the company's stock, valued at $731,237.50. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 312,456 shares of company stock valued at $4,464,105. Insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

Huntington Bancshares Profile

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.