Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Now Covered by Jefferies Financial Group

Equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target on the bank's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price target points to a potential upside of 30.55% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $16.50 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird raised Huntington Bancshares from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen assumed coverage on Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Argus set a $17.00 target price on Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.83.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

HBAN traded down $0.11 on Wednesday, hitting $15.32. 25,782,903 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,043,730. The firm has a market cap of $22.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.89. 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 has a one year low of $11.92 and a one year high of $18.45. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $14.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.95.

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

Huntington Bancshares announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 17th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Kendall A. Kowalski sold 3,434 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.50, for a total value of $49,793.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 66,847 shares in the company, valued at $969,281.50. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Helga Houston sold 42,345 shares of the 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 now directly owns 592,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,715,991.68. The trade was a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 312,456 shares of company stock valued at $4,464,105. Insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HBAN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,956,974 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,611,094,000 after buying an additional 978,565 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 64,926,419 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,056,353,000 after buying an additional 2,218,020 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Huntington Bancshares by 8.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 57,186,593 shares of the bank's stock worth $858,371,000 after buying an additional 4,586,607 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 8,759,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $357,670,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003,683 shares during the period. 80.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Huntington Bancshares

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.