Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Short Interest Down 13.4% in March

Key Points

• Short interest down 13.4% — short interest fell to 66,405,212 shares as of March 31 (a 13.4% decline from March 15), with a short-interest ratio of 2.5 days and about 3.3% of shares shorted.
• Mixed insider activity: Director James D. Rollins III bought 1,127 shares (a 39.23% increase in his stake) while insider Prashant Nateri sold 10,171 shares; over the last 90 days insiders bought 27,700 and sold 98,986 shares, and insiders own 0.67% of the stock.
• Dividend and results/ratings snapshot: Huntington paid a quarterly dividend of $0.155 (annualized $0.62, a 3.7% yield) and recently missed quarterly estimates with EPS $0.37 vs. $0.40 expected and revenue $1.61B vs. $2.21B, while analysts hold a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $20.13.

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 66,405,212 shares, a decrease of 13.4% from the March 15th total of 76,665,019 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 26,531,491 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other Huntington Bancshares news, Director James D. Rollins III bought 1,127 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.39 per share, for a total transaction of $28,614.53. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,560. This trade represents a 39.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Prashant Nateri sold 10,171 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.50, for a total value of $157,650.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 83,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,299,194.50. The trade was a 10.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 27,700 shares of company stock valued at $540,401 and sold 98,986 shares valued at $1,600,958. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. South Plains Financial Inc. raised its position in Huntington Bancshares by 116.3% during the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 1,536 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR bought a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Huntington Bancshares by 374.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,675 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares during the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of HBAN opened at $16.57 on Friday. Huntington Bancshares has a 52 week low of $13.36 and a 52 week high of $19.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $16.48 and a 200-day moving average of $16.73.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.03). Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 18th. Huntington Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HBAN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $19.50 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Argus increased their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.13.

About Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated NASDAQ: HBAN is a bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, that provides a broad range of banking and financial services through its principal subsidiary, Huntington National Bank. The company's operations are centered on retail and commercial banking, and it serves individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, and institutional customers.

Huntington's product offerings include traditional deposit and lending products, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage origination and servicing, auto financing, and business banking solutions.

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