Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.08.

Several research firms have commented on HBAN. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Argus set a $17.00 target price on Huntington Bancshares in a report on Friday, April 25th. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $18.50 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HBAN opened at $15.73 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $22.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.92. Huntington Bancshares has a 52-week low of $11.92 and a 52-week high of $18.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm's fifty day moving average is $15.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.73.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.44% and a net margin of 16.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Huntington Bancshares's payout ratio is presently 47.33%.

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

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In related news, VP Brendan A. Lawlor sold 3,521 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,950 shares in the company, valued at $731,237.50. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Zachary Jacob Wasserman sold 59,060 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.36, for a total transaction of $848,101.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 277,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,982,717.28. The trade was a 17.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 218,617 shares of company stock valued at $3,113,982 over the last ninety days. 0.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,023 shares of the bank's stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Carlson Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 163,575 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,661,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 12,317 shares of the bank's stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,279 shares of the bank's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,579 shares of the bank's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntington Bancshares Company 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.

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