Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Issues Earnings Results

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.04), RTT News reports. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 11.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Down 1.6%

Huntington Bancshares stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.71. 50,149,545 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,705,203. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $16.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.73. Huntington Bancshares has a one year low of $11.92 and a one year high of $18.45. The company has a market cap of $24.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.93.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. Huntington Bancshares's payout ratio is 47.33%.

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

Insider Transactions at Huntington Bancshares

In other news, insider Helga Houston sold 42,345 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.72, for a total value of $623,318.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 592,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,715,991.68. The trade was a 6.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Zachary Jacob Wasserman sold 59,060 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.36, for a total transaction of $848,101.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 277,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,982,717.28. The trade was a 17.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 214,375 shares of company stock worth $3,049,277. Company insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Huntington Bancshares stock. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) by 40.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 122,821 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 35,574 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Huntington Bancshares were worth $1,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 80.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on HBAN. Argus set a $17.00 price target on Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $18.50 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded Huntington Bancshares from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $21.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Huntington Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.48.

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.