Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Huntington Bancshares has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 21 analysts, with a target price averaging $18.68.
• The company recently announced a $1 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating confidence in its stock value.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.155 per share has been declared, with an annualized yield of 3.9%.

Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.6842.

Several brokerages have weighed in on HBAN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $17.50 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $16.50 target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Monday, April 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 13,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.79, for a total transaction of $216,323.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 337,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,335,109.41. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Huntington Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Huntington Bancshares by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,956,974 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,611,094,000 after purchasing an additional 978,565 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 4.7% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 60,871,690 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,019,253,000 after buying an additional 2,709,071 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 57,186,593 shares of the bank's stock worth $858,371,000 after acquiring an additional 4,586,607 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,828,775 shares of the bank's stock worth $357,670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Huntington Bancshares by 26.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 22,011,639 shares of the bank's stock valued at $330,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,576,432 shares in the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Down 1.1%

HBAN stock opened at $15.87 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $16.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.72. The stock has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.76, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.93. 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 has a twelve month low of $11.91 and a twelve month high of $18.44.

Huntington Bancshares declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 17th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be given a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 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 currently 45.93%.

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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